New prison rules alleged to pave way for Yingluck’s freedom

The Ministry of Justice is working on imposing a rule allowing prisoners to be released on parole and detained in their homes, claiming that doing so could mitigate prison overcrowding.

According to Justice Minister Tawee Sondong, the regulation is now under the drafting process. But it is likely those with a jail term lower than four years will be deemed eligible under a committee especially set up to make such decisions.

Doubts have shifted to Yingluck, who has lived in exile since her government’s rice-pledging scheme allegedly led to losses of 500 billion baht, with some suggesting that the rule might be created in her favour, even though she still faces a five-year prison sentence.

The speculation was stressed after ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra earlier told Japanese media that he hoped Yingluck could return around April next year.

Pundits have compared the latest development to the so-called “Thaksin model”, describing detention rules allegedly implemented to favour Thaksin. All of them were spearheaded by then-justice minister Somsak Thepsutin, who moved from the junta’s Palang Pracharath Party to the Pheu Thai Party during the 2023 election campaign.

The proposed rules would allow prisoners with “serious” health issues to be kept out of prison and permit a convicted prisoner who has been sentenced to imprisonment for no less than six months or one-third of the sentence to receive a reduction in the jail term.

Factors like the behaviour of convicts are taken into consideration for the latter rule.

Thaksin was sentenced in exile to eight years in jail after 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 only being in detention while undergoing treatment at a hospital for 180 days, he was released on parole in February. His one-year jail term ended this month.

Criticisms by political observers erupted alleging that the “Shinawatra clan” was working on reducing Yingluck’s sentence to meet the new criteria.

It remains unclear if she will come home next year as predicted, but some people associated with the controversial rice-pledging scheme are being freed.