Thailand’s Supreme Court has decided that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra must spend one year in prison after being found guilty of corruption and abusing his power.
The court said Thaksin had not completed part of his previous jail sentence correctly, and staying in a luxury hospital ward did not count as serving time in prison.
Thaksin created one of the most influential political families in Thailand before being removed from power in a 2006 military coup.
He spent 15 years living abroad before returning in 2023 to serve a shorter corruption sentence after his daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, became prime minister.
He was released on parole in early 2024 after only a few months in the hospital, which caused criticism that he had been treated differently from ordinary citizens.
Last month, his daughter Paetongtarn was also removed from her position following a court ruling connected to a leaked phone call with Cambodia’s Hun Sen, which sparked public anger.
Paetongtarn, who accompanied her 76-year-old father to court on Tuesday, expressed concern about his health.
She said, “I’m worried about my father, but I’m proud of the historic moments he has helped create for Thailand. It’s a tough time, but we remain positive as a family.”
She added that Thaksin would continue to play a spiritual and guiding role in Thai politics and always puts the country’s interests first.
Thaksin’s new legal issues come from an earlier conviction linked to his time as prime minister from 2001 to 2006.
During his time in office, he was accused of abusing his power. After being ousted in the 2006 military coup, he lived mostly in Dubai before returning to Thailand. He was then convicted of corruption and abuse-of-power charges and given an eight-year prison sentence.
Later, the sentence was reduced to one year after he requested clemency from King Maha Vajiralongkorn. However, he never served it fully, spending less than a day in a prison cell before moving to a suite at the Police General Hospital due to heart problems.
