Members of the media wait in front of the Supreme Court on the day of the hearing on the legality of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's six-month hospital stay before he was granted parole, in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, June 13, 2025. -- Photo: REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand's top court on Friday ordered 20 witnesses to testify in a case over former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's hospital stay following his return from exile.
Thaksin, 75, returned to Thailand in August 2023 after more than a decade in exile and was sentenced to eight years in prison on graft-related charges.
He was sent to a detention facility but quickly moved to a private room in a police hospital due to health issues, sparking public speculation that he was being given special treatment.
The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions is investigating whether he served his sentence properly, and on Friday summoned witnesses including doctors from the Department of Corrections to appear next month.
Winyat Chatmontree, head of Thaksin's legal team, said the dates could clash with a separate criminal trial on lese-majeste charges over comments the former premier made to South Korean media a decade ago, which is also set to begin next month.
The Supreme Court refused his request to reschedule its hearings.
Former Manchester City owner Thaksin, ousted in a 2006 coup, returned to Thailand on the same day the Pheu Thai Party, led by his daughter Paetongtarn, formed a coalition government, fuelling speculation of a political deal.
He spent around six months in the Police General Hospital before being pardoned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn and freed on parole.
The legal developments come as the government faces a border dispute with Cambodia and internal tensions within its coalition.
Thaksin remains popular among his support base but is strongly opposed by the country's royalist and military establishment. - AFP
