Thai Game of Thrones: Thaksin Back Behind Bars

TEHRAN (Defapress) - Thailand’s Supreme Court on Tuesday sentenced former Prime Minister and prominent figure in the country’s corrupt politics, Thaksin Shinawatra, to a year in prison. The sentence was handed down because he was illegally staying in a hospital instead of in prison. The court said Thaksin should serve his sentence in prison.

Thaksin, 76, was prime minister from 2001 to 2006 until he was overthrown in a 2006 military coup. After 15 years in exile, he returned to Thailand in 2023 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison on charges of corruption, abuse of power, and conflict of interest. The Thai king reduced the sentence to one year, and Thaksin was released on parole in February 2024. But instead of prison, he was held in a luxury suite at Bangkok's General Police Hospital, raising suspicions of bribery.

Some believe Thaksin had made deals with Thai conservatives and royalists to return, although Shinawatra denied it. The Supreme Court ruled that his stay in the hospital did not count as serving a sentence. In June, the Medical Council of Thailand suspended two doctors for issuing fake medical documents for Thaksin's treatment, and a prison doctor was also given a warning.

Thaksin was in court and flew to Dubai on a private jet on Thursday for a medical examination, sparking speculation that he had fled. The ruling was the third in a series of court cases against the Shinawatra family, who have dominated Thai politics for more than two decades. Thaksin's daughter, Phatthongtharen, was also recently removed from her position for moral turpitude.

The Shinawatra family has won most elections since 2001, but Thailand's political establishment has repeatedly toppled their corrupt governments, with the help of the military and the courts. Last week, Shinawatra's Pheu Thai party was ousted from power, and Anutin Charnwirakul was elected as the new prime minister.