His Majesty the King has granted a royal pardon to Thaksin Shinawatra, reducing the former prime minister’s combined jail sentence from eight years to one, according to Friday's Royal Gazette.
The pardon, dated Aug 31, was countersigned by caretaker Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
The 74-year-old billionaire inmate formally filed a petition for a royal pardon not long after he returned from 15 years of self-exile abroad on Aug 22.
On the day he returned, the Supreme Court ordered Thaksin jailed for a total of eight years in three cases.
Since his return, Thaksin has served 10 days of his sentence — all but a few hours of it at the Police General Hospital, where he was transferred on health grounds shortly after reporting to the Bangkok Remand Prison on the afternoon of Aug 22.
Officially, he still has seven years, 11 months and 20 days of jail time remaining.
The petition to His Majesty stated that when Thaksin led the government, he made a lot of useful contributions to the country and the people. He was also loyal to the monarchy.
The petition asked that the former leader be pardoned so that he can “use his knowledge, abilities and experience to help and benefit the nation, society and people in the future”.
According the text published in the Royal Gazette, His Majesty acknowledged the petition and granted a royal pardon.
His return to Thailand came on the same day that Srettha Thavisin was elected prime minister in parliament, at the head of a government led by the Pheu Thai Party, which Thaksin founded more than two decades ago.
