Not sure I'd be too happy if I was a Man City fan

a few doubts being expressed about the good character of their new owner</p>

Whatever criticisms anyone may have about our past or current owners they dont come close to any of these allegations</p>

from the BBC</p>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/6918718.stm</p>[*]'A Fit and Proper Premiership?'
Five Live Sport, Tuesday 31 July, 2000 to 2100 BST

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="203" align="right" border="0"><tbody><tr><td><div> <div class="cap">Thaksin completed his purchase of Manchester City earlier this month</div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>A leading human rights group has written to the Premier League to challenge Thaksin Shinawatra's right to own Manchester City. </p>

Human Rights Watch (HRW) claims Thaksin is &quot;a human rights abuser of the worst kind&quot; and should not have passed the league's 'fit and proper person' test. </p>

Thaksin, the Thai prime minister from 2001 to 2006, denies the allegations. </p>

&quot;Under any definition, I don't see how Thaksin can be fit and proper,&quot; HRW's Brad Adams told BBC Sport. </p>

&quot;I've written a letter to the Premier League asking what this test means.&quot; </p>

Thaksin's lawyer, Noppadol Pattama, told BBC Sport that the allegations were completely unfounded. </p>

&quot;The civil and human rights charges against him have never been proven,&quot; said Noppadol. </p>

&quot;My client deserves to be treated as an innocent man, until proven guilty. </p>

&quot;So far there hasn't been any solid evidence against him.&quot; </p>

The Premier League confirmed it has received the letter, but is yet to respond to it. </p>

Amnesty International shares many of HRW's concerns and their spokesperson told BBC Sport: &quot;Thaksin did preside over some very serious human rights violations. </p>

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="208" align="right" border="0"><tbody><tr><td style="width: 5px"></td><td class="sib606"><div class="sihf">606: DEBATE </div><div><div class="mva"><font color="#000099">Do you care about an owner's background?</font>
</div></div><div class="mva"></div></td></tr></tbody></table></p>

&quot;If the Premier League wants to take any of that into account when making their decisions, we're happy to make our documents available to them.&quot; </p>

The allegations against Thaksin are that, during his time as Thai prime minister, he: </p>

</p>[*]Presided over extrajudicial killings during the notorious &quot;war on drugs&quot;. HRW says 2,500 people were killed during one three-month period at the start of 2003.

</p>[*]Told the Thai military to employ any means to suppress an insurgency in the south of Thailand.

</p>[*]Suppressed the Thai media.

Thaksin's lawyer, Noppadol, countered: &quot;As far as I am concerned, he (Thaksin) has never instructed any public officer to execute a drug dealer. </p>

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="208" align="right" border="0"><tbody><tr><td style="width: 5px"></td><td class="sibStdQuote"><div><div class="mva">We will be able to prove his innocence after the general election when we are sure our client will get a fair trial
</div></div><div class="mva"><div class="mva">Noppadol Pattama
Thaksin's lawyer</div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></p>

&quot;We just tried to solve the drug problem in Thailand by getting tough with criminals. But he has never issued any instructions for shoot-to-kill policies. </p>

&quot;I hope Manchester City fans and British people are fair-minded. They should suspend their judgement before deciding Thaksin is not fit. He is a fit and proper man to run the club.&quot; </p>

Prospective owners must pass a &quot;fit and proper person test&quot; before buying a Premier League football club. </p>

Thaksin passed this before completing his buy-out of City last month. </p>

The former Thai Prime Minister faces charges of conflict of interest and dereliction of duty following a land deal conducted by his wife, Pojamarn, in 2003. </p>

If convicted, the Thai government could request his extradition from Britain. </p>

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="208" align="right" border="0"><tbody><tr><td style="width: 5px"></td><td class="sibtbg"><div class="miiib"><div class="arr"><font color="#000099" size="2">Thai court to hear Thaksin case</font> </div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></p>

However, this would almost certainly not be granted, because the request would probably be seen as being politically motivated. </p>

Thailand is ruled by a military-installed government that assumed power by overthrowing Thaksin in a coup in 2006. </p>

Yet the situation could change if a democratically-elected government made the request - and elections are scheduled for December this year in Thailand. </p>

Noppadol said he was sure his client would be acquitted if a democratic government assumed power in Thailand. </p>

&quot;We will be able to prove his innocence after the general election when we are sure our client will get a fair trial,&quot; he told BBC Sport. </p>

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