Thai correctional officials say former Prime Minister Thaksin is eligible for a pardon next month due to health issues and age.
"According to the standards, Mr. Thaksin is eligible for a special pardon," Deputy Director of Thailand's Department of Corrections Sitthi Sutivong told reporters on January 17 when asked whether former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra would be released next month.
However, Sitthi added that his agency had not yet received a request from Bangkok prison for a pardon for former Prime Minister Thaksin.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at Don Mueang Airport, Bangkok, in August 2023. Photo: Reuters
Thaksin, 74, returned to Thailand in August 2023 and was arrested shortly afterward. He was sentenced to eight years in prison for abuse of power, but his sentence was reduced to one year by royal pardon.
Just hours after being transferred to a prison in Bangkok, Thaksin was hospitalized and transferred to the Police General Hospital. The former Thai prime minister remains in this hospital.
Many activist groups opposing Thaksin accuse him of preferential treatment and point out that since the former Thai prime minister returned to the country, he has not spent a single day in prison.
Thailand's Department of Corrections said last week that Thaksin has several serious illnesses that could put his life in danger if he returned to prison. A doctor recently stated that Thaksin suffers from high blood pressure, narrowed blood vessels, hepatitis B, and has undergone two surgeries since being hospitalized.
Thaksin returned to Thailand at a time when the country had a new government led by the Pheu Thai party, which is linked to his family. Thaksin had served as Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 but was overthrown in a military coup in 2006. He subsequently left the country and has lived in exile since 2008.
Ngoc Anh (According to Reuters )
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