Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra freed early from parole after receiving royal pardon

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BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra formally completed all his obligations related to a prison sentence on Wednesday, when a royal pardon ended his four-month probation early.

The 76-year-old billionaire populist, who was a dominant force in Thai politics for more than two decades, was released from a Bangkok prison last month to cheering crowds. There has since been speculation that he might continue to exert his strong influence over the Pheu Thai Party, which is part of the governing coalition, though his family has said he may want to step back from politics.

The decree by King Maha Vajiralongkorn was published in the Royal Gazette late Tuesday and became effective Wednesday. Thailand is a constitutional monarchy, giving the king the final word on pardons of convicted criminals.

The king’s decision was made on the occasion of Queen Suthida’s birthday. It applied broadly to eligible convicts who met specific conditions. Thaksin qualified for full release because he had been released on probation and had less than a year remaining on his sentence.

Thaksin was a telecommunications magnate who founded his own political party in 1998 and served as prime minister from 2001 until a military coup ousted him in 2006 while he was abroad.

His ouster triggered nearly two decades of political polarization, even as parties aligned with him repeatedly returned to government during his self-imposed exile. His populist policies won strong support among poorer voters, particularly in the rural north and northeast, but his popularity and sometimes high-handed style created deep fractures between his base and the country’s urban elites, royalists and the military.

Thaksin was released May 11 after serving eight months of a one-year sentence for corruption-related charges. As part of his parole conditions, he was required to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and originally was scheduled to remain on probation for four months.

Thaksin’s lawyer, Winyat Chatmontree, confirmed to The Associated Press that Thaksin has been fully released from his legal obligations, but said there are some procedures to remove his bracelet, which could take several days.

He had been sent to prison after being convicted on charges involving using his position to benefit his own business interests and illegally approving a state lottery project that caused losses to the government.

He was originally sentenced in 2023 to eight years in prison, but the sentence was commuted to one year by the king, and he was granted permission on medical grounds to serve it from a suite in Bangkok’s Police Hospital.

After protests that he had received unwarranted special treatment, the Supreme Court in September 2025 ordered Thaksin to serve his sentence in prison.