Thailand’s Supreme Court has sentenced former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to one year in prison. The ruling was issued on Tuesday by the country’s highest court.
According to Reuters, Thaksin received the sentence because he had spent his previous jail term in a VIP hospital room instead of serving time in prison. The court noted that the 76-year-old influential politician stayed in the hospital not solely for medical reasons, but deliberately, which is considered illegal under the law.
The verdict is being seen as a major setback for Thaksin, his family, and his political faction. The Shinawatra family has wielded significant influence in Thai politics for more than two decades. Just 11 days prior, Thaksin’s daughter and political successor, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, lost her bid for the premiership in a separate court ruling.
Thaksin returned to Thailand in 2023 after a 15-year voluntary exile. Although he was sentenced to eight years for abuse of power and conflicts of interest, royal prerogative reduced the term to one year. However, after spending only a few hours in prison, he was transferred to a hospital citing heart issues, where he stayed in a VIP room for six months—an arrangement that sparked nationwide outrage.
Meanwhile, amidst recent political turbulence, Parliament elected rival Anutin Charnvirakul as the new Prime Minister, delivering a significant blow to Thaksin’s Pheu Thai Party.
Sources: Reuters, Al Jazeera