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"Thaksin felt sorry for lawyers who were sentenced to jail. He has returned to Thailand to defend the charge in a straightforward and transparent manner because he is confident of his innocence. He is ready to fight the case under the justice system," according to a statement as read out by Pongthep Thepkanjana, the former premier's personal spokesman.

Thaksin dismissed any link to the recent incident in which his lawyers gave a bag filled with Bt2 million in cash to a court official.

The official brought the case to his superiors which led to the Supreme Court's conviction that the lawyers violated the court's authority and sentenced each to six months in jail.

The three lawyers -- Pihit Chuenban, Thana Tansiri and Supasri Srisawat -- worked for Thaksin and his wife, Khunying Pojamarn. The couple have been accused of abusing their power in the purchasing a plot of land in Rachadapisek area.