KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister of Thailand and billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra received a royal pardon today, shortening his parole by two weeks.
This comes a day after his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra was elected prime minister by the parliament.
According to Reuters, Thaksin is among the prisoners who received the royal pardon in honour of the king’s birthday last month.
“It will take effect on Sunday,” his lawyer Winyat Chartmontri told Reuters.
It is understood that the parole, granted in February, was due to end at the end of the month but was shortened to tomorrow as part of the royal pardon.
Thaksin has been at the heart of a two-decade power struggle between the Shinawatra family and its allies on one hand, and on the other, a nexus of royalists, generals, and old-money families that have long wielded influence over Thai governments and institutions.
After returning last August from self-exile to avoid jail time in the wake of his overthrow in a 2006 military coup, Thaksin served six months in hospital detention due to health reasons before being released on parole in February.
Upon his return, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for abuse of power and conflicts of interest during his time in office from 2001 to 2006.
His sentence was commuted to one year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn last September.
Thaksin’s daughter Paetongtarn, 37, was elected yesterday as Thailand’s second female prime minister and the third Shinawatra to hold the office, winning with nearly two-thirds of the Thai parliament.
She is also the youngest person to hold the position.
Thaksin’s ally Srettha Thavisin was dismissed as prime minister on Wednesday by the Constitutional Court for ethics violations, setting up the vote for Thaksin’s daughter.
Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was prime minister from 2011 to 2014. – August 17, 2024