Thai Court Orders Ex-Premier To A Year In Prison After Popular Outrage Over ‘Special Treatment’

Thailand’s Supreme Court has ruled that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra must serve one year in prison – which is a huge blow and setback for one of the southeast Asian country’s most influential and controversial political figures of the last couple decades.

The 76-year old billionaire appeared in court on Tuesday, after spending days outside the country for what he said was a medical purpose, though his absence had sparked fears he had gone into exile or on the run.

“The court will issue a warrant for his imprisonment, and Bangkok Remand Prison officials will take him into custody,” a judge announced, issuing the one-year prison sentence.

“Though I will lose my physical freedom from today, I still have the freedom of thought to work for the good of the nation and its people,” the former premier subsequently wrote on social media.

Thaksin is among the most famous of the country’s recent leaders, having established one of its most influential political dynasties – surging to popularity especially among rural populations – before being overthrown in a 2006 military coup.

He was accused by subsequent authorities of far-reaching corruption, during which time he spent 15 years in self-imposed exile, which came to and end in 2023. He had been tried and sentenced in absentia. That’s when his daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, became prime minister.

While technically he was given an eight-year sentence for corruption and abuse of power upon return home, he was let off with essentially a slap on the wrist, and widespread angry accusations of special treatment. The NY Times explains:

Mr. Thaksin then spent six months in a V.I.P. suite at the hospital and was released after receiving a royal pardon. His sentence was eventually commuted.

But on Tuesday, a five-judge panel ruled Mr. Thaksin’s condition at the time — including chest tightness, hypertension and low blood oxygen levels — was not critical enough to require a stay in the hospital.

Mr. Thaksin appeared calm and was smiling as the sentence was announced. His two daughters and sons-in-law sat behind him. After the judges left the room, Ms. Paetongtarn walked over to Mr. Thaksin to speak with him.

In a statement released after the court proceedings, Mr. Thaksin said he accepted the prison term, saying he wanted to “look forward, to bring closure to everything in the past — whether legal battles or conflicts related to me.”

It was described as an early parole for time served but it unleashed anger and criticism among political opponents and the public.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra has spoken outside a Thai court after it ordered her former PM father, Thaksin Shinawatra, back to prison for not properly serving his original jail sentence. Paetongtarn, a former PM herself, was removed from office last month. pic.twitter.com/UOpUGkc2iF

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 9, 2025

He had maintained a significant degree of political influence during his many years in exile, while his populist policies and confrontational, hardline rhetoric made him a target of the more conservative, royalist establishment which has long held greater sway in tradition-oriented Thailand.