Thai king commutes former PM Thaksin’s prison sentence to one year
THAILAND’S king has commuted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s eight-year prison sentence to one year, the royal gazette said on Friday (Sep 1), a day after the billionaire submitted a request for pardon.
The former premier, 74, returned to Thailand last week in a dramatic homecoming after spending 15 years abroad in self-exile to avoid prison on charges of abuse of power and conflicts of interest during his time in power.
He arrived on a private jet and was transferred to prison to serve an eight-year sentence. On his first night, he was moved to a police hospital over chest pains and high blood pressure.
On Thursday, he submitted a request for a royal pardon.
Thaksin “was a prime minister, has done good for the country and people and is loyal to the monarchy”, the royal gazette said on Friday.
“He respected the process, admitted his guilt, repented, accepted court verdicts. Right now he is old, has illness that need caring from medical professional,” it read.
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The former leader fled Thailand in 2008 to avoid corruption charges after he was ousted in a 2006 military coup.
Upon his return to Thailand, the Supreme Court sent Thaksin to prison for three of four graft convictions handed down in absentia.
Hours after his return, Srettha Thavisin, a nominee of the coalition headed by Pheu Thai Party, effectively helmed by Thaksin, was elected as Thailand’s new prime minister.
Thaksin’s homecoming was seen as part of a deal with the military establishment that has repeatedly ousted his family and political allies over the past two decades.
Thaksin’s return and time in hospital have fuelled speculation that he has struck a deal with those very rivals among the country’s powerful generals and conservative old money elites - something he and the Pheu Thai party deny.
He remains hospitalised, with authorities citing the need for specialists and advanced medical equipment for his treatment.
“It is his majesty’s grace that showed Thaksin mercy,” the former leader’s lawyer Winyat Chatmontri told Reuters, referring to King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
“Thais should accept and not criticise this outcome because it could be considered a violation of royal power,” he said.
Thailand’s strict royal insult law shields the monarchy from criticism, carrying a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
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