Thailand’s Thaksin Shinawatra ordered to serve 1 year in jail by Supreme Court

Thailand’s Supreme Court ruled on September 9, 2025, that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra must serve one year in jail because his detention in a VIP wing of a hospital in lieu of prison was unlawful. The judges said Thaksin was not suffering from severe illness while serving an eight-year jail sentence and that his hospitalisation could not be counted as time served. The decision represents another major blow for a powerful family that has dominated Thai politics for two decades.