Former Thai PM Thaksin prepares request for royal pardon - lawyer

FILE PHOTO: Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is expected to be arrested upon his return as he ends almost two decades of self-imposed exile, gestures while flanked by his son Panthongtae Shinawatra and daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok, Thailand August 22, 2023. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is preparing documentation to draft a request for a royal pardon, but when it would be submitted was at his discretion, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

Thaksin returned to Thailand in a vaunted homecoming last week after spending 15 years abroad in self-exile. After landing in a private jet, he was transferred to prison to serve an eight-year sentence on charges of abuse of power and conflict of interest remnant from his days in power.