Thailand ex-PM Thaksin gets royal pardon

17/8/2024 18:44

        Thailand's billionaire former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra received a royal pardon shortening his parole by two weeks, his lawyer said on Saturday, a day after his daughter was elected premier by parliament.
        
        Thaksin has been at the heart of a two-decade power struggle between the Shinawatra family and its allies on the one hand, and, on the other, a nexus of royalists, generals and old-money families that have long wielded influence over Thai governments and institutions.
        
        After a dramatic return last August from self-exile to avoid jail time in the wake of his overthrow in a 2006 military coup, Thaksin served six months in hospital detention, due to health reasons, before being released on parole in February.
        
        After his return, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for abuse of power and conflicts of interests during his time in office from 2001 to 2006. His sentence was commuted to one year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn last September.