Thai ex-PM appeals to supporters to stay away from court

Thailand's former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is urging supporters to stay away from court as she faces the possibility of spending 10 years behind bars for a policy that prosecutors claim cost the country as much as $17 billion.

Yingluck, whose government was toppled by a 2014 military coup, is accused of criminal negligence for disregarding advice that her policy to support rice prices was flawed.

Thousands of supporters had been expected to turn up to support her when the Supreme Court delivers a verdict Friday, in defiance of the military government. But in a message Thursday on her Facebook page, she said she was worried about supporters' safety because of the threat of chaos instigated by third parties, whom she did not name.