Ousted former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra greets in a traditional way as she arrives at Parliament before the National Legislative Assembly meeting in Bangkok January 22, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

"Banning me for five years would be a violation of my basic rights," Yingluck said in an almost hour-long address to the NLA on Thursday.

"This case that is aimed solely against me has a hidden agenda, it is politically driven."

Yingluck's supporters say the charges are part of a broader campaign by the ruling military junta, known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), to limit the influence of her powerful family and prevent her from running in any future election.

They say the NLA is full of her opponents and expect the assembly to vote against her.

The impeachment is the latest chapter in 10 years of turbulent politics that have pitted Yingluck and her brother Thaksin, himself a former prime minister, against the royalist-military establishment which sees the Shinawatras as a threat and reviles their populist policies.

A decision to ban Yingluck from politics would require three-fifths of the NLA vote. A ban would have little immediate impact on Thai politics, as parties have been banned from engaging in political activity since the coup.