Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was in a "safe place" on Saturday after being held by the army following a coup, an aide said, as opposition to the takeover grew among her supporters and pro-democracy activists, according to the Associated Press.
The army moved on Thursday after failing to forge a compromise in a power struggle between Yingluck's populist government and the royalist establishment, which brought months of sometimes violent unrest to Bangkok's streets, the AP reported.
Consolidating its grip, the military dissolved the Senate on Saturday, the only legislative assembly still functioning in Thailand, according to the AP. It also sacked three senior security officials who were seen as close to the ousted government.
The military detained Yingluck on Friday when she and about 150 other people, most of them political associates, were summoned to an army facility in Bangkok, the AP reported.
More people were summoned over the weekend, including some outspoken academics and journalists, according to the AP. The bosses of 18 newspapers and private and public sector economic administrators were also called to meetings with the military.
Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup and left the country after a 2008 graft conviction, but he remains Thailand's most influential politician and was the guiding hand behind the government of Yingluck, his sister, the AP reported. The military also detained Thaksin's adult son, and Yingluck's nephew, Panthongtae Shinawatra, according to posts on social media, but his sister later said that was not true.
Army deputy spokesman Winthai Suvaree told a news conference that anyone being held would not be detained for more than seven days. He did not mention Yingluck, according to the AP.
The military also issued an order to financial institutions to freeze dealings with two former ministers in Yingluck's cabinet who had not responded to a military summons, the AP reported.
The army also said King Bhumibol Adulyadej had acknowledged the military takeover, a significant formality in a country where the monarchy is the most important institution, according to the AP.
