Thailand: Ex-PM Thaksin to be Freed After Being Granted Parole Request

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was granted parole on Tuesday (Feb. 13) and could be released as early as this weekend.

According to Thai attorney-general Tawee Sodsong, the parole for Thaksin would be a symbol of reconciliation between his populist Pheu Thai Party and the country's conservative establishment, a rivalry defining Thai politics for nearly 20 years, which included two military coups.

Tawee told reporters ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting in Bangkok that the 74-year-old former prime minister, who went into self-imposed exile for over a decade, qualified for an early release due to his eligibility as an inmate who may have serious illnesses, is disabled, or aged over 70.

Pheu Thai Party leader and Thaksin's daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra told reporters last week that she has prepared her home in Bangkok in anticipation of her father's release.

Thailand: Ex-PM Thaksin to be Freed After Being Granted Parole Request — *(Photo: Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)*

Thaksin's Jail Time So Far

Thaksin is currently confined to a police hospital in Bangkok where he was serving time for convictions related to corruption and abuse of power while in office, convictions he decried as politically motivated.

Opponents have charged that serving his sentence in a hospital was a special privilege, suggesting that it was part of a political deal between his party and the military, the Associated Press reported.

Thaksin had been in exile since 2008 but voluntarily returned to Thailand in August last year to serve his eight-year sentence on the same day as Srettha Thavisin was named prime minister after Pheu Thai garnered the support of military-linked parties.

Thai monarch King Maha Vajiralongkorn eventually reduced his sentence to a single year.

Last week, Thai officials said that they have reopened an investigation into Lese majeste allegations, where he purportedly defamed the monarchy almost nine years ago.