Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is expected to be granted parole in May, when he will have served two-thirds of his one-year prison term, according to a source at the Department of Corrections.
News of the possible parole was widely reported by Thai media on Thursday after Thaksin’s family visited him at Klongprem Central Prison.
According to a source at the department, inmate classification reviews are normally conducted four times a year.
Consideration is based on factors such as conduct during incarceration, participation in public service activities, good behaviour, length of sentence and time already served.
In Thaksin’s case, he meets the criteria for general parole, said the source. For inmates serving a one-year sentence, eligibility for parole requires completion of two-thirds of the term, or eight months.
Thaksin is therefore expected to qualify for parole in May this year, said the source.
Thaksin, 76, has been in Klongprem Central Prison in Bangkok since Sept 9 last year, when the Supreme Court ordered him to actually serve his one-year sentence for abuse of authority and conflict of interest while prime minister prior to 2006.
The court did not recognise Thaksin’s long stay at Police General Hospital in 2023-24 as qualifying for prison time.
Thaksin returned to Thailand on Aug 22, 2023, after more than 15 years of self-exile abroad.
He was immediately sentenced to eight years in prison — later reduced to one year by royal clemency.
He was taken to Bangkok Remand Prison but was moved to Police General Hospital the same night, only 13 hours after he entered the prison.
