©Reuters. Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra sits next to his daughter Pethunthaan Shinawatra as she is released from a police hospital after being granted parole in Bangkok, Thailand, on February 18, 2024.Reuters/Atit Perawonmetha
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Written by Napat Weshasartar, Panarat Tepgunpanat
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Convicted former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was released on parole on Sunday, marking his first day of freedom in his homeland, 15 years after he fled following his overthrow by royalist forces, his lawyer said. said.
The influential billionaire, whose family's political party is currently in power in Thailand, was released from hospital detention after six months after being sentenced on charges of abuse of power and conflict of interest, but the country's king His sentence was reduced from eight years to one year.
Reuters reporters said Mr. Thaksin, 74, left the hospital in a black Mercedes van early Sunday wearing a green shirt and his arm in a sling, next to his youngest daughter, ruling Thai Party leader Pethunthaan Shinawatra. I saw him sitting there.
Thaksin is eligible for parole due to his age, health and length of time served, and was being held in hospital for medical reasons.
The car was seen arriving at the family's Bangkok residence about 25 minutes later.
Petonthan shared a post from one of his followers on Instagram with a photo of him and his father in a car, with the message: “Thaksin is home. We wish him good health.”
Lawyer Winyat Chartmontri told Reuters that Thaksin had completed the parole process and was officially released.
Thaksin, Thailand's best-known and most polarizing prime minister, has been in the political shadows for two decades, despite spending 15 years in self-imposed exile to avoid prison, but the charges are against him. He has long maintained that the enemy fabricated the story in order to alienate him.
Thaksin's dramatic return from exile to serve his sentence in August was met with cheers from crowds and a media frenzy.
He was taken to the hospital with high blood pressure and chest pains on his first night in prison, where he has remained ever since.
Thaksin is at the center of a long-running power struggle between Thailand's rival elites, which has been punctuated by bouts of sometimes violent street protests by rival movements and support for Shinawatra by court rulings and a military coup. It is an intermittent battle characterized by the overthrow of two governments. .
He claims to have retired from politics.
