Thailand’s Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra Ordered to Serve One-Year Jail Term

Thailand’s Supreme Court has ruled that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra must serve a one-year prison sentence, following a determination that his detention in a VIP hospital wing instead of prison was unlawful.

The judges noted that Thaksin did not have a severe illness, and his hospitalisation could not be counted as time served. They added that responsibility did not lie solely with the doctors, and that the former billionaire intentionally prolonged his hospital stay.

Thaksin, 76, accepted the court’s verdict, stating on Facebook that while he may lose his physical freedom, he retains the freedom of thought to benefit the country and its people.

This ruling comes amid a period of political upheaval for the Shinawatra family. Earlier, Thaksin’s daughter and protégé, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, was removed as Thailand’s prime minister on August 29—the sixth premier from or backed by the Shinawatra family to be ousted by the judiciary or military. Following her removal, Anutin Charnvirakul was elected as the new prime minister in parliament, marking a significant defeat for Thaksin’s Pheu Thai party.

After returning from a 15-year self-imposed exile in 2023, Thaksin spent only a few hours in prison before being transferred to a hospital for alleged heart and chest issues, which sparked public scepticism. His original eight-year sentence for conflicts of interest and abuse of power had been commuted to one year by the king, with Thaksin spending the entire period in a VIP hospital wing.

A Pheu Thai lawmaker present in court said Thaksin faced the ruling with resilience and maintained his fighting spirit.