Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been granted a royal pardon, and his parole is set to conclude on Sunday, his attorney Winyat Chartmontri announced on Saturday.
Thaksin’s parole was set to conclude at the end of this month. However, it is ending earlier due to a broad royal pardon involving 7,500 prisoners who demonstrated good conduct, issued in honor of His Majesty the King’s birthday last month, Mr. Winyat stated.
This announcement came just one day after Thaksin’s daughter, Paetongtarn, aged 37, made history by becoming Thailand’s youngest ever elected prime minister. She is the third member of the Shinawatra family to secure this leadership role.
After 15 years in self-exile, Thaksin, now 75, returned to Thailand last August. He had fled the country in 2008 after jumping bail, asserting that he would not face a fair trial on several politically motivated charges.
Upon his return to Bangkok, Thaksin was initially sentenced to eight years in prison for conflict of interest and abuse of power during his tenure as prime minister from 2001 to 2006, a sentence that was subsequently reduced to one year thanks to an earlier royal pardon.
Thaksin managed to avoid prison time by spending six months in the Police General Hospital. He became eligible for parole in February due to his age, health conditions, and having served half of his sentence.
Although one of the terms of his parole was to refrain from direct political activities, the patriarch has been quite influential behind the scenes within the ruling Pheu Thai Party.
A local media outlet is even promoting an upcoming seminar on August 22, where Thaksin will be the keynote speaker, sharing his “vision for Thailand.”
This has led a commentator on X to suggest that he should pass the speaking opportunity to his daughter, as the public is eager to hear the prime minister’s vision.
Thaksin still faces legal challenges, including a lese-majeste charge linked to a 2015 interview with a South Korean newspaper, where he alleged that privy councillors had supported the 2014 coup that deposed his sister Yingluck’s government.
He was released on bail regarding this charge, though a trial date is yet to be scheduled. Recently, his request to travel to Dubai for medical treatment, where he spent most of his exile, was rejected.
