Thai police and military police officers guard the main entrance to the Supreme Court in Bangkok, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010. Ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra emotionally pleaded for sympathy and an end to his exile Wednesday, days before Thailand's Supreme Court decides whether $2.29 billion of his family's fortune should be seized due to alleged corruption. (AP)

Thai workers install new security cameras around the Supreme court in Bangkok February 24, 2010. Security forces are braced for a big turnout and a possible violent response to a court verdict due on Friday on whether to seize $2.29 billion in assets belonging to the family of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose popularity among the rural masses gave him an unprecedented two terms in office before his removal in a 2006 coup. (Reuters)