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PoliticsThailand

Thailand: Former PM Thaksin Shinawatra receives royal pardon

August 17, 2024

Thaksin Shinawatra, who served as prime minister from 2001 until he was ousted in a military coup in 2006, has been granted a pardon by Thailand's king. It comes a day after his daughter Paetongtarn was elected as PM.

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Ex-Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin has been at the heart of a two-decade power struggle in Thai politicsImage: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images

Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has received a royal pardon and his parole will end on Sunday, his lawyer Winyat Chartmontri said.

"Thaksin is among the prisoners that received the royal pardon" for prisoners in honor of King Maha Vajiralongkorn's birthday last month, Winyat said. "He will later receive a document from the prison saying he is a free man."

The move means Thaksin's parole, due to end at the end of the month, ends earlier than planned. 

Thaksin set to walk free after daughter elected as premier

The announcement came a day after Thaksin's daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 37, was elected as Thailand's second female prime minister and the third Shinawatra to hold the office.

Paetongtarn was elected by nearly two-thirds of members of the Thai parliament.

The vote for a new PM was prompted by a Constitutional Court ruling on Wednesday removing Thaksin ally Srettha Thavisin as prime minister for ethics violations. 

Thailand's new prime minister is part of political dynasty

Who is Thaksin Shinawatra and why is he so divisive?

Thaksin has been one of Thailand's most prominent politicians for decades as well as one of the most polarizing figures.

To the rural voters, Thaksin was the first leader to have paid attention to the needs of the millions living beyond Bangkok's bright lights.

But to many in the urban middle class and the royalist elite, Thaksin was a crony capitalist who plundered the economy.

He was in power from 2001 until 2006 when he was ousted in a military coup. He faced a series of corruption charges.

Thaksin then fled Thailand in 2008, claiming he would not get a fair trial, and spent 15 years in self-exile in Dubai. 

But he returned to Bangkok for the first time in 15 years in August 2023, where he was greeted by family and supporters.

He was then quickly taken into custody and sentenced by the Supreme Court to eight years in prison on charges of graft and abuse of power. He was guilty of the charges in absentia during his exile.

His eight-year sentence was later commuted to a year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn in September last year.

rm/sri (Reuters, AP)