Thailand’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the country’s most powerful and polarizing statesman Thaksin Shinawatra to be jailed for one year, ruling he improperly served a 2023 prison term in hospital.
Thaksin, 76, had been sentenced to eight years for corruption and abuse of power after returning to the country in August 2023 following years spent living in exile.
But he never spent a night in a cell—whisked to a private hospital room, his sentence was reduced to one year by royal pardon, before he was freed in an early release scheme for elderly prisoners.
“Sending him to hospital was not legal, the defendant knows his sickness was not an urgent matter, and staying in hospital cannot count as a prison term,” said the ruling read out by a judge.
The court ordered the issue of a warrant to take Thaksin to Bangkok Remand Prison to begin serving a one-year prison term.
Shinawatra’s political clan has for two decades been the key foe of Thailand’s pro-military, pro-royalty elite who view his populist brand as a threat to traditional social order.
But the dynasty’s momentum is flagging after a litany of legal and political setbacks, culminating in Thaksin’s daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra last month being ousted from the prime minister’s office.
Thaksin arrived at the court smiling and posing for photos, flanked by dynasty heiress Paetongtarn, who left the ruling without him but told reporters he was “in good spirits”.
“My father remains a spiritual leader—whether through his past political role, his contributions to the country, or his sincere intention to be part of improving the lives of the people,” she said.
Thaksin was elected prime minister in 2001 and again in 2005, but took himself into exile after his second term was cut short by a military coup.
The timing of his return and his transfer to hospital, which coincided with his Pheu Thai party forming a new government, fueled public suspicion of a backroom deal and allegations of special treatment.
The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions began investigating the case in April, and has probed prison and medical officials to determine if the sentence was properly served.
Their ruling came just days after the Pheu Thai party was ousted from top office, with Paetongtarn felled by a Constitutional Court ruling that she breached ministerial ethics in a border spat with Cambodia.
Pheu Thai had held the premiership since 2023 polls, but a coalition led by their onetime ally Anutin Charnvirakul replaced them on Sunday.
Thaksin flew out of the country by private jet ahead of Tuesday’s verdict, fueling speculation in Thai media he may have absconded.
But he returned on Monday ahead of the ruling.
