By Eniola Amadu
Thailand’s former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, has been ordered to return to prison after the Supreme Court ruled that the six months he spent in a police hospital did not count toward his sentence.
The decision on Tuesday marks the latest setback for the Shinawatra political dynasty, which has dominated Thai politics for a quarter of a century but is now in sharp decline.
Thaksin, 76, was originally sentenced in 2008 to eight years in prison on charges of graft and abuse of power linked to his five-year tenure as prime minister, which ended with a military coup in 2006.
Convicted in absentia while living in exile, he returned to Thailand in 2023 after 15 years abroad. The Thai king subsequently commuted his sentence to one year.
Soon after his return, Thaksin claimed chest pains and was transferred from prison to a hospital, where he remained in the VIP ward for six months before being released under clemency by the then Pheu Thai–led government.
The Supreme Court has now ruled that his hospital stay was unjustified, as he was not suffering from a serious illness, and ordered that the time would not count toward his term. The ruling is final and cannot be appealed.
In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, Thaksin said he “humbly” accepted the decision, adding: “From today, even though I will lose my freedom, I will still have freedom of thought for the benefit of the nation and its people.”
Shinawatra removed from office
The verdict comes just weeks after Thaksin’s daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, was removed from office by the constitutional court for ethics violations following a leaked phone call with Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen. Her dismissal triggered the dissolution of her cabinet, and Pheu Thai was unable to regain power in parliament.
Paetongtarn’s former deputy, Anutin Charnvirakul, leader of the Bhumjaithai party, was appointed as Thailand’s third prime minister in just over a year. He has pledged to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections within four months.
Thaksin’s sister Yingluck Shinawatra also served as prime minister from 2011 until her removal in a 2014 military coup.
