Thaksin now ‘a free man’ after receiving royal clemency

Caretaker Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong confirmed on Sunday that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra had received a royal clemency, marking the end of his jail term.

Tawee said His Majesty the King had given royal pardons to almost 31,000 inmates on the occasion of his 72nd birthday and Thaksin was in the category of some 8,000 paroled inmates who were eligible for the royal clemency.

Thaksin was sentenced in exile to eight years in jail following convictions in three corruption cases. After he returned to the kingdom last year, he got a royal clemency that commuted his jail term to one year. After being in detention while undergoing treatment at the Police General Hospital for 180 days, Thaksin was released on parole in February. His one-year jail term was initially scheduled to end this month.

Tawee said those who were released by the royal clemency included almost 10,000 people who had been detained because they could not afford to pay fines.

The rest of the inmates, who were released by the royal pardon were those who had served at least one-third of their jail term, but excluded those convicted in severe drug trafficking and corruption cases.

When asked whether the Justice Ministry would cooperate with the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) by providing footage of the security camera on the 14th floor of the police hospital where Thaksin stayed for 180 days, Tawee said if his ministry had processed the footage and the NACC asked for it, the ministry would definitely comply with the request.

The NACC is now probing whether Thaksin’s treatment at the police hospital was an act of discrimination and privileges not enjoyed by other normal inmates. The National Human Rights Commission concluded that the treatment Thaksin had received, as compared to other prisoners, could be deemed as discriminatory, and it asked the NACC to probe the case.