A police committee on Tuesday voted to strip former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra of his police rank.
The panel chaired by Pol Gen Chaiya Siri-ampankul, an adviser to the Royal Thai Police, agreed 5-0 to remove Thaksin's of lieutenant colonel rank.
The panel last week said there was clear evidence Thaksin is a criminal fugitive, one of the six criteria needed to strip a former police officer of his rank.
Pol Gen Chaiya said the committee's findings along with supporting legal explanations were sent today to national police chief Somyot Pumpunmuang, who will consider and formally approve its decision before forwarding it to Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon.
Pol Gen Chaiya said the decision was based on legal evidence and the panel had no bias and were not worried about Thaksin supporters coming to power again because they had done their work in a straightforward manner.
The move came after the Foreign Ministry decided on May 26 to revoke Thaksin's two Thai ordinary passports over his press interview in Seoul on May 20 in which he claimed the privy councillors supported the 2014 coup that ousted his sister Yingluck's government.
The police force is considering whether Thaksin's May 20 comments violated the les majeste law.