A report has said that the military-backed government in Thailand has rejected former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's request to seek permission to travel abroad until February 22.
A spokesman for the military-backed government said that the decision was aimed at ensuring that she was in the country to face criminal charges later this month, reported the BBC.
Shinawatra has been accused of wrongdoing in a scheme, which she oversaw, to subsidise rice farmers. If the charges are proved, she may be sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The spokesman said that the attorney general was due to submit a subpoena on February 19 and she would have to be present for the case to go ahead.
However, Shinawatra's lawyer said that her presence was not required for at least two months and accused the military government of using the case as an "excuse" to deny her right to travel, which he said would be a "violation of her basic rights."
Shinawatra became Thailand's first female prime minister in July 2011 and remained in power until May 2014 when the Constitutional Court forced her to step down from post after finding her guilty of abusing her power.
Her impeachment in January led to a five-year ban from politics. She denies the charges.