Thai king cuts ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra’s prison sentence to 1 year: ‘he showed remorse’
- State journal, the Royal Gazette, said the 74-year-old billionaire had ‘accepted his crime and shown remorse’
- The former leader’s homecoming coincided with his Pheu Thai party returning to government in an alliance with pro-military parties
The party also won the most parliamentary seats in the polls, yet has been pushed into the opposition.
“Thaksin accepted his crime and showed remorse,” the Royal Gazette said, explaining the sentence reduction, adding that the 74-year-old former prime minister was ill.
Thaksin is in a police hospital in downtown Bangkok where he is suffering from high blood pressure, authorities say, after serving one night in a remand prison.
After his one year is served he will be freed and encouraged “to use his knowledge, capability and experience to help benefit the country, society and the people”, the Royal Gazette said.
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Thaksin, twice elected prime minister and ousted in a 2006 military coup, had applied for a pardon from the jail term he is serving for convictions for corruption and abuse of power, said caretaker justice minister Wissanu Krea-ngam.
Under Thai law, prisoners can submit a pardon application that is passed from the justice minister through the prime minister to the privy council before reaching King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
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Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra jailed for 8 years upon return from exile
Thaksin is one of the most influential but divisive figures in modern Thai history.
He won the hearts of the adoring rural poor with subsidies and income redistribution schemes, recognising their changing aspirations. In reward, they powered him to landslide election wins in 2001 and 2005, the only civilian leader to be twice elected in Thai history.
But he riled the military, which underpins the Thai monarchy, resulting in a 2006 coup. He went into exile two years later as convictions cascaded down.
But disquiet is building among those who feel their votes for Move Forward have been effectively wiped out to allow a concoction of conservatives and Shinawatra acolytes to form a government.
Thaksin’s quick jail sentence reduction provoked humour, anger and wry commentary on social media, where people made references to an apparent deal to allow his return in exchange for freezing the Move Forward Party from government.
“The only thing faster than 50G internet is Thaksin’s royal pardon,” one Thai said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Well done for blocking MFP! Here you go, here’s your 90 per cent discount … no need to wait for a flash sale,” said another.
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Move Forward’s frontman Pita Limjaroenrat was blocked from becoming premier by the unelected senate, whose members said they could not support a party wanting to reform the controversial royal defamation law, which criminalises comment and criticism of the monarchy.
Scores of people, including teenagers, have been charged and jailed under that law since massive pro-democracy protests erupted two years ago.
Free Youth, which led some of the largest rallies at the time, urged people jailed under the royal defamation law to also receive a pardon.
“Justice must be shared by everyone equally,” it said in a post on X.
Additional reporting by Reuters and Agence France-Presse
