Thaksin released early from prison

Long-awaited homecoming: (Clockwise from top right) Thaksin’s family members, including his daughters Paetongtarn (left) and Pintongta Shinawatra Kunakornwong (centre), waiting ahead of his expected release at Klong Prem Central Prison in Bangkok. . — AFP

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was released early from prison, raising the prospect of a return to the spotlight for the political heavyweight.

The 76-year-old telecoms billio­n­aire has served eight months of a one-year prison sentence for corruption and will be required to wear an electronic monitor while on probation until Septem­ber.

Thaksin hugged family members outside the Klong Prem Central Prison in Bangkok yesterday, where several hundred supporters wearing their signature red shirts had gathered, some shouting “We love Thaksin”.

Thaksin “may stay away for a couple of months, but he will not leave politics”, said 70-year-old Janthana Chaidej, who took a day off work as a restaurant cook to show his support.

The political patriarch has other pending criminal cases against him, which could dissuade him from making rousing speeches and risking further prosecution, analysts say.

“I went into hibernation for eight months,” Thaksin told repor­ters from a rear window of his car outside his home in the capital, adding that he felt “relief” after his release.

The former premier was fitted with an electronic monitor at a Bangkok probation office yesterday morning and will not be allowed to travel outside of the capital without permission, the corrections department said in a statement.

Thaksin’s political machine has for two decades been a key rival of Thailand’s pro-military, pro-royal­ty elite, who view his populist brand as a threat to the traditional social order.

His Pheu Thai party and its earlier iterations have been the country’s most successful political outfit of the 21st century, with the Shinawatra family producing four prime ministers and drawing widespread support from rural voters.

But Pheu Thai had its worst election result ever in February, slipping to third place and raising questions about the future of Thaksin’s dynasty.

Yet, Pheu Thai’s inclusion in the ruling coalition of conservative Prime Minister Anutin Charn­vira­kul has left open the possibility of a political comeback.

For his die-hard supporters, Thaksin’s release “will strengthen Pheu Thai in the short term as people will feel that the Pheu Thai owner is back”, said political science lecturer Wanwichit Boon­prong.

But Thaksin’s “old enemies, the conservatives” will rally around Anutin, who “has what Thaksin does not have – the trust of the elites”, Wanwichit added.

The anti-Thaksin conservatives will want to see him “stay away from politics”, said the lecturer.

Anutin told reporters he was happy for Thaksin and his family.

“He returns home with a smile,” the prime minister said.

Asked if he might eventually meet with Thaksin, Anutin did not dismiss the idea, saying, “Bangkok is not that big. Meeting with people we know and respect is not strange.”

The corrections department announced last month that Thaksin would be paroled due to his age and the fact that he had less than a year of his sentence to serve.

Thaksin was jailed after the Supreme Court ruled last year that he improperly served a 2023 sentence in a hospital suite rather than in a prison cell.

He was elected prime minister in 2001 and again in 2005, and took himself into exile after his second term was cut short by a military coup.

After returning to Thailand in August 2023, he was sentenced to eight years for corruption and abuse of power.

But, rather than prison, he was whisked to a private room in a hospital on health grounds; his sentence was reduced to one year by royal pardon, and he was freed as part of an early release scheme for elderly prisoners.

The timing of his return and medical transfer, which coincided with Pheu Thai forming a new government, fuelled public suspicion of a backroom deal and allegations of special treatment.

The Supreme Court ruled in September that Thaksin had not been suffering from a critical health condition and his time spent in hospital could not count as time served, landing him in prison to serve his one-year term.

Thaksin was one of more than 850 prisoners who were approved for early release.

His daughter, former prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, told reporters on Thursday after meeting with Thaksin in prison that they had “not discussed anything about politics”.

Thaksin’s nephew Yodchanan Wongsawat, who became Pheu Thai’s standard-bearer ahead of the February election, was made minister of higher education in Anutin’s cabinet. — AFP