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Thailand’s king has reduced former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s eight-year prison sentence to one year, the royal gazette said on Friday, just days after the charismatic billionaire returned from 15 years of self-imposed exile.
Thaksin, whose family has been a major force in Thai politics for the past two decades, was deposed in a military coup in 2006. The 74-year-old was convicted in absentia on charges of corruption and abuse of power.
The return of Thaksin, unpopular with the royalist-military establishment but backed by rural and working-class voters because of policies to cut poverty, coincided with the appointment of a candidate from his Pheu Thai party as the country’s next leader.
Few observers had expected Thaksin, who returned to Thailand on August 22, to spend much time in jail. The former prime minister, who was greeted by supporters at the airport before going to court, was jailed but was almost immediately moved to a police hospital over chest pains and high blood pressure.
On Thursday, he submitted a request for a pardon from King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Thaksin “was a prime minister, has done good for the country and people and is loyal to the monarchy”, the royal gazette said on Friday. “He respected the process, admitted his guilt, repented, accepted court verdicts.” The gazette also noted Thaksin’s illness and need for medical care.
“If Thaksin was going to return to Thailand, he must have known something was afoot, he was going to have a very small sentence. This is an indication there was a deal between the powers that be and Thaksin,” said Paul Chambers, an expert in Thai politics at Naresuan University, anticipating that the sentence could be reduced further.
Thaksin returned to Thailand on the same day that the country’s parliament chose Srettha Thavisin as prime minister, ending a three-month deadlock since an election in May.
Pheu Thai finished second behind the progressive Move Forward party, which swept to victory pledging wholesale reform to the military and monarchy.
However, Move Forward’s leader, 42-year-old US-educated Pita Limjaroenrat, was locked out of power by Thailand’s conservative military-royalist establishment, which instead struck a deal with former adversaries in Thaksin’s party to install Srettha as prime minister.
“Pheu Thai and the more conservative elements in Thailand have come together as the status quo elements against the more progressive Move Forward party,” said Chambers. “They are both afraid of Move Forward, it has the potential to galvanise youth movements.”
The next government will face considerable challenges following almost a decade of military rule, including reviving south-east Asia’s second-biggest economy, which has struggled to recover after the coronavirus pandemic.
It has already unveiled plans to cut energy prices as it tries to ease a cost of living crisis.
