Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been sent back to prison after a court ruled that his previous prison sentence could not be fulfilled while staying in a hospital. Thaksin served as the Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006. One year after being elected for a second term in 2005, he was ousted by the military while abroad. In 2008, a Thai court found him guilty of abuse of power in absentia and sentenced him to eight years in prison.
After 15 years of self-imposed exile, Thaksin returned to Thailand when his political party, Pheu Thai, gained power. Upon his return, he was immediately arrested. However, due to health concerns, he was transferred to a hospital. Following a royal pardon, Thaksin’s sentence was reduced from eight years to one year. He spent six months in a VIP wing of the hospital serving his sentence and was released on parole in February 2024.
The Thai Supreme Court examined whether the time spent in the hospital could be counted towards his prison sentence. The court ruled that the hospital stay could not be considered as part of the sentence and that he must return to prison to complete his term. The court also stated that although Thaksin and his doctors claimed his health condition was poor and prevented him from being in prison, they had fraudulently extended his hospital stay.
