ISTANBUL, Sept 9 — Thailand’s Supreme Court has ordered former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to serve one year in prison over convictions for corruption and abuse of power, Anadolu Ajansi reported, citing the Thai Public Broadcasting Service.
He was removed from power in a military coup in 2006 and lived in self-imposed exile, primarily in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates for several years.
Upon Thaksin's return to Thailand in 2023, he was quickly tried, convicted of corruption and abuse of power during his tenure, and sentenced to eight years in prison.
After he requested a royal pardon, King Vajiralongkorn reduced his sentence to one year. However, Thaksin spent less than a day in prison before being transferred to the Police General Hospital due to health complaints.
He remained there for six months before being granted parole and returning to his home in Bangkok.
The latest legal issue revolved around the legality of his hospital transfer and whether his health concerns were genuine.
Last week, Thailand's Constitutional Court removed his daughter and protégé Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office as prime minister after less than a year, for violating ethics in a leaked June telephone call, during which she appeared to kowtow to Cambodia's former leader Hun Sen when both countries were on the brink of an armed border conflict.
Paetongtarn, 39, was a political neophyte when she was thrust abruptly into the spotlight after the surprise dismissal of predecessor Srettha Thavisin by the same court a year ago. She has apologised over the leaked call and said she was trying to avert a war.
Subsequently, former interior minister and Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul was selected as the nation's 32nd Prime Minister by its Parliament on Monday (September 7)
