Former PM Thaksin Shinawatra to be eligible for parole next year

Former Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra will be eligible for parole in February next year, 2024. The ex-PM will not have to wear the Electronic Monitoring (EM) bracelet and will be able to express his views on Thai politics.

The Committee on Human Rights, Freedom and Consumer Protection of the Thai Senate invited the Department of Corrections and Police General Hospital to clarify the status of former PM Thaksin in a meeting yesterday, September 25. The purpose of the meeting was to answer people’s suspicions about whether the care and rights provided to Thaksin were in accordance with the law.

The committee’s chairman, Somchai Sawaengkarn, told Channel 3 after the meeting that the Corrections Department and Police General Hospital had given a fairly clear explanation of the committee’s suspicions. However, he asked the authorities to discuss this with their commanders and to return to the meeting next month.

The meeting report stated that Thaksin was a sick prisoner and was first admitted to the Corrections Department Hospital on August 22 before being transferred to the Police General Hospital. The prison authorities and police officers monitored the 74 year old PM at the hospital at all times.

Thaksin also submitted medical certificates from Singapore and the United Arab Emirates to the Prison Department. Thaksin had just undergone surgery for an incurable disease and the prisoner had the right not to disclose the symptoms and details of the treatment to the public.

Thaksin would later be transferred back to the Corrections Department Hospital after his condition following surgery became stable.

Royal pardon and parole

Somchai added that Thaksin would not be able to receive any more royal pardons from now on as he would have to serve one of the four sentences first.

To be eligible for parole, Thaksin must first serve at least six months or one in three of his sentences in jail. As a result, he will be eligible for parole in February next year, 2024.

Thaksin will not have to wear an EM bracelet and he will not be allowed to leave Thailand for the foreseeable future. No date was given on how long the ex PM will have to remain in the country.

Somchai said Thaksin would be able to express his thoughts on Thai politics. However, Somchai did not confirm whether or not Thaksin will be able to be appointed as an adviser to PM Srettha Thavisin.

Channel 3 reported that yesterday’s meeting went on for more than three hours but several senators kept leaving the meeting, saying it was a waste of time.

According to some senators, officials from the Department of Corrections and the Police General Hospital refused to answer many questions, saying it was confidential information of the prisoner.

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