Thailand’s Supreme Court Orders Thaksin Shinawatra to Serve One-Year Jail Term
Court finds his six-month hospital detention did not count toward sentence, marking a major setback for the Shinawatra political legacy.
Thailand’s Supreme Court has ruled that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra must serve a one-year prison term, concluding that his months in a hospital’s VIP ward cannot be credited toward his sentence.
The ruling, delivered by a five-judge panel, determined that his hospital stay was unlawful and that he had intentionally extended it following his brief incarceration upon returning to Thailand in 2023.
Police officials were instructed to take Thaksin into custody at the courthouse, where he remained at the time of the ruling.
Thaksin, a billionaire and former telecommunications magnate, returned from more than fifteen years of self-imposed exile on 22 August 2023.
He was immediately sentenced to eight years in prison across three cases involving abuse of power and conflicts of interest during his premiership prior to 2006.
That sentence was commuted to one year by royal clemency, and he was released on parole after spending six months in hospital rather than in a prison cell.
The court found that arrangement invalid, prompting this renewed incarceration.
This verdict represents a further blow to the Shinawatra political dynasty, long dominant in Thai politics.
Just eleven days before, his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra had been dismissed as prime minister, making her the sixth premier from or aligned with her family to be removed by judicial or military means.
Her ouster triggered political upheaval and ultimately led to Anutin Charnvirakul assuming the premiership as the Pheu Thai Party was shunted into opposition.
In reaching its decision, the court scrutinised Thaksin’s health records and heard testimony, including from medical professionals and corrections officials.
The judges concluded that while hospital stays may sometimes be medically justified, in this case the confinement did not meet legal standards for serving a sentence.
The combined legal setbacks underscore mounting challenges for Thaksin’s influence and that of his political network, as they face pressure from Thailand’s entrenched institutions and a shifting political landscape.
The ruling, delivered by a five-judge panel, determined that his hospital stay was unlawful and that he had intentionally extended it following his brief incarceration upon returning to Thailand in 2023.
Police officials were instructed to take Thaksin into custody at the courthouse, where he remained at the time of the ruling.
Thaksin, a billionaire and former telecommunications magnate, returned from more than fifteen years of self-imposed exile on 22 August 2023.
He was immediately sentenced to eight years in prison across three cases involving abuse of power and conflicts of interest during his premiership prior to 2006.
That sentence was commuted to one year by royal clemency, and he was released on parole after spending six months in hospital rather than in a prison cell.
The court found that arrangement invalid, prompting this renewed incarceration.
This verdict represents a further blow to the Shinawatra political dynasty, long dominant in Thai politics.
Just eleven days before, his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra had been dismissed as prime minister, making her the sixth premier from or aligned with her family to be removed by judicial or military means.
Her ouster triggered political upheaval and ultimately led to Anutin Charnvirakul assuming the premiership as the Pheu Thai Party was shunted into opposition.
In reaching its decision, the court scrutinised Thaksin’s health records and heard testimony, including from medical professionals and corrections officials.
The judges concluded that while hospital stays may sometimes be medically justified, in this case the confinement did not meet legal standards for serving a sentence.
The combined legal setbacks underscore mounting challenges for Thaksin’s influence and that of his political network, as they face pressure from Thailand’s entrenched institutions and a shifting political landscape.
