Thailand’s ex-PM Thaksin gets royal pardon, says his lawyer

BANGKOK – Thailand’s billionaire former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra received a royal pardon shortening his parole by two weeks, his lawyer said on Aug 17, a day after his daughter was elected premier by Parliament.

Thaksin has been at the heart of a two-decade power struggle between the Shinawatra family and its allies on the one hand and, on the other, a nexus of royalists, generals and old-money families that have long wielded influence over Thai governments and institutions.

After a dramatic return in August 2023 from self-exile to avoid jail time in the wake of his overthrow in a 2006 military coup, Thaksin served six months in hospital detention, due to health reasons, before being released on parole in February 2024.

After his return, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for abuse of power and conflicts of interest during his time in office from 2001 to 2006. His sentence was commuted to one year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn in September 2023.

Thaksin is among the prisoners who received the royal pardon for prisoners in honour of the King’s birthday in July, his lawyer Winyat Chartmontri told Reuters. “It will take effect on Sunday (Aug 18).”

Parole, granted in February, was due to end at the end of August, but was shortened to Aug 18 as part of the royal pardon, he added.

Thaksin’s daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 37, was elected on Aug 16 as Thailand’s second female prime minister and the third Shinawatra to hold the office, winning nearly two-thirds of votes in the Thai Parliament.

Thaksin ally Srettha Thavisin was dismissed as prime minister on Aug 14 by the Constitutional Court for ethics violations, setting up the vote for Thaksin’s daughter.

Thaksin’s sister Yingluck Shinawatra was prime minister from 2011 to 2014. REUTERS