Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has asked supporters to cheer for her from their homes on Friday, rather than go to the Supreme Court for the ruling in her trial, to avoid any "unexpected problems".
"I would like everybody who is worried about me and wants to give me moral support not to travel to the court tomorrow and to follow the case at home, to avoid the risk of unexpected problems from people with possible ill intentions towards you," Ms Yingluck said in a message posted on her Facebook account on Thursday.
She thanked all her supporters on the eve of one of the most watched events in Thai politics, when the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions will rule on the rice-pledging case.
Ms Yingluck is accused of dereliction of duty leading to corruption and huge losses in the scheme.
She sent her supporters the message as security authorities announced unprecedented tightening of security at the court, compared with her previous appearances, in a bid to control her supporters.
The National Council for Peace and Order expects between 2,000 and 3,000 people to gather in the area in front of the court to support her. They will be matched by at least as many police, possibly as many as 4,000.
The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship called on authorities to stop preventing Ms Yingluck's admirers upcountry from travelling to Bangkok.
The red-shirt group said it supports peaceful means of protest and will respect the ruling of the judges. "The UDD will not make any move which will affect the judicial process, or law and order," it said in a statement on Thursday.
Authorities have stepped up checks on vehicles and public transport to deter supporters of the former prime minister from travelling to the capital for the judgement. Their main targets are chartered vehicles, and public buses and trains bound for Bangkok.
