Thailand’s Supreme Court has ruled that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra must serve one year in prison, in a watershed case for the kingdom.
The court issued its ruling on Tuesday in a review of whether Thaksin’s stay in the private room of a police hospital from 2023 to early 2024 counted as time served towards an earlier prison sentence.
Thaksin, 76, was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment in 2023 for fraud and abuse of power following his surprise return to Thailand after 15 years in exile.
His sentence was commuted to one year by the king, and he was later released early due to his age.
Despite the seriousness of the charges, the former premier never spent a day in prison and instead remained in hospital due to health concerns.
“Of all the options that were on the table, either complete release or some form of home arrest, this is the worst option,” said Al Jazeera correspondent Tony Cheng from Bangkok.
Cheng said that the verdict would be unsurprising for many Thais.
“People were quite disappointed he spent all that time in police hospital; he didn’t even end up serving a night in jail in the end. I think this will be seen as some kind of justifiable sentence for the crimes that many people feel that he was guilty of during his time in power,” he said.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow…
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