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Correction made: The daughter’s name is accurately stated. Thailand’s ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his daughter, who also served as a former Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, were seen arriving at the Supreme Court in Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday, September 9, 2025. (Photo by Sakchai Lalit for AP)
BANGKOK – Thailand’s Supreme Court said former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra must serve a one-year prison term for previous convictions.
The court was investigating whether officials had mishandled his return to Thailand in 2023 to begin serving the sentences.
After more than ten years spent living abroad to avoid legal charges, Thaksin returned to Thailand and was moved to a suite at the Police General Hospital in Bangkok for health-related reasons not long after serving less than a day in prison.
His original eight-year sentence concerning several cases of corruption and power misuse was reduced to a one-year term by King Maha Vajiralongkorn. Subsequently, he was granted parole after six months in the medical facility.
The circumstances raised questions about whether he received special treatment and many were suspicious whether he was genuinely ill.
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