Thaksin second royal pardon request denied by justice minister
No further royal pardon as legal panel reviews Thaksin’s case
Thailand’s justice minister has rejected a second royal pardon petition filed on behalf of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, meaning the 74 year old must serve the remainder of his one-year jail term.
Justice Minister Rutthapon Naowarat said he has formally submitted his opinion on Thaksin’s appeal to the Cabinet Secretariat after reviewing the findings of a special committee.
The petition was the second attempt to seek a royal commutation of Thaksin’s sentence, which had already been reduced from eight years to one by His Majesty the King.
Rutthapon, a former police lieutenant general, said he instructed Pongsawat Neelayothin, the justice permanent secretary, to assemble a panel to examine the legal grounds of the appeal. The panel completed its review and handed over its conclusions yesterday, October 7.
The rejected appeal had first been turned down by former justice minister Tawee Sodsong in a confidential letter dated September 23, addressed to Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. The application was returned to the Cabinet Secretariat shortly after.
ThaiPBS reported that legal experts have questioned the legitimacy of Thaksin’s second request. Kaewsan Atibodhi, a former law professor at Thammasat University, argued that a second royal pardon is not permissible since the King had already granted a commutation.
Kaewsan also pointed out that Thaksin fled the country for 17 years following a court verdict before returning to Thailand. Although his sentence had been reduced, it had not yet been fully enforced by the Department of Corrections.
According to Section 259 of the Criminal Procedure Code, all royal pardon requests must be processed through the appropriate legal and constitutional channels.
This decision comes after former prime minister Somchai Wongsawat and his wife, Yaowapha Wongsawat, visited Thaksin at Klong Prem Central Prison yesterday, October 6, to offer moral support as he awaited the decision on his second royal clemency plea.
The visit marked the seventh time family members have seen Thaksin since the Supreme Court ordered him back to prison on September 9 to serve his one-year sentence.
Somchai, who is both Thaksin’s brother-in-law and a former prime minister, arrived with Yaowapha, Thaksin’s younger sister. The couple, accompanied by Thaksin’s lawyer Winyat Chartmontree, spent around 20 minutes with him. Thaksin’s children were not present.
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