BANGKOK: Thailand’s influential former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra began his first full day in prison on Wednesday following a Supreme Court ruling that his previous jail term served in hospital was improper.
The court decision represents one of the most significant setbacks for Thailand’s biggest political heavyweight whose clan has opposed the pro-military and pro-royalty elite for two decades.
Judges ordered the immediate transfer of the 76-year-old to Bangkok Remand Prison after declaring his hospital stay unlawful.
Thaksin was later moved to Klong Prem prison where he will serve the remainder of his one-year sentence according to the corrections department.
The department provided no further updates regarding his case on Wednesday.
Thaksin’s political dynasty has faced numerous legal and political setbacks recently culminating in his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra being ousted from the prime minister’s office last month.
He was originally elected prime minister in 2001 and again in 2005 before going into exile after a military coup cut short his second term.
Upon returning to Thailand in August 2023 he received an eight-year sentence for corruption and abuse of power.
He never spent a night in a prison cell initially being transferred directly to a private hospital room before receiving a royal pardon that reduced his sentence to one year.
His early release under a scheme for elderly prisoners combined with the timing of his return during his Pheu Thai party’s government formation raised public suspicions of a backroom deal.
The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Thaksin had not been suffering from a critical emergency condition during his hospital stay making the enforcement of his prison sentence unlawful. – AFP
