A prison vehicle carrying former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived in Bangkok Thursday, marking the start of his 1-year sentence. “I respectfully accept and would like to go through the judicial process in accordance with today’s judgment,” Thaksin wrote on social media. “Although all of these cases occurred after my government was overthrown in a coup in 2006, today I choose to look forward and bring it to an end.”
Thailand’s Supreme Court ruled Monday that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was serving an illegal sentence at the police general hospital, ordering him to serve another year of his sentence, the national newspaper reported. Thai media said the ruling was made 11 days after the Prime Minister of the Thai Party, Thaksin Shinawatra daughter Peitontan, was dismissed as prime minister. The The Straits Times reported that the judge said Thaksin was not seriously ill and could receive treatment in prison, while Thaksin and his doctors deliberately prolonged their stay in hospital.
A Reuters reporter at the sentencing said Thaksin was taken away from the prison and arrested.
Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra (center) is escorted into a police car outside the Supreme Court in Bangkok, Thailand, Sept. 9,2010. Visual China
Peitontan, who accompanied the court to the hearing, immediately embraced his father after the court’s ruling, according to the national newspaper. He then walked out of the court and told the media how grateful his family was to Thaksin for having been granted royal grace and his sentence reduced to one year. She also noted that Thaksin was the first Thai prime minister to be jailed.
The trial of Thaksin has attracted great attention from all walks of life in Thailand. Several Thai media reported on the 8th, the court for the case to mobilize more than 100 police officers in advance, to maintain order at the scene, to prevent accidents.
Mr Thaksin, 76, was elected Prime Minister in 2001 and 2005, but a military coup led to an early end to his second term in 2006 and a life in exile abroad. After 2023 returned in August, Thaksin was sentenced to eight years in prison for corruption and Abuse of authority, reduced to one year under a royal pardon. On the night of August 22, Thaksin returned to Thailand after a long 2023 overseas exile. However, in the early hours of the morning, he was urgently transferred from the Bangkok special detention area to the 14th floor of the police hospital for treatment for nearly six months due to a sudden high blood pressure. He was subsequently released, it caused controversy about whether he had actually served his sentence.
Thaksin’s imprisonment is another blow to the Shinawatra family, which has dominated Thai politics for 20 years, Reuters said Tuesday. However, some analysts say that even if Thaksin goes to jail, it does not mean he will retire from politics altogether and that he could still play a role within the Puea Thai Party.