Thailand’s ex-PM Thaksin applies for royal pardon

Published September 1, 2023
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra greets his supporters as he returns from self-exile at Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport on August 22, 2023. — Reuters
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra greets his supporters as he returns from self-exile at Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport on August 22, 2023. — Reuters

BANGKOK: Thailand’s jailed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has requested a royal pardon, a government minister said on Thursday, as rumours of a backroom deal for clemency swirl.

The 74-year-old billionaire, twice elected PM and ousted in a 2006 military coup, was sent to prison last week immediately after returning to the kingdom from 15 years of self-exile.

His homecoming coincided with his Pheu Thai party returning to government in alliance with several pro-military parties, sparking widespread speculation that an agreement had been struck to cut his jail time.

Caretaker justice minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said Thaksin had applied for a pardon from the eight-year jail term he is serving for convictions for graft and abuse of power. “We have received (the requ­est), the rest will be according to the procedure,” Wissanu told reporters.

Asked how long the process would take, Wissanu said: “It is purely based on royal grace. The procedure from the government is not long, but it depends on the length of (the king’s) consideration.” Under Thai law, prisoners can submit a pardon application that is passed from the justice minister through the prime minister to the privy council before going to King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Officials say the process takes one to two months, if all the paperwork is in order.

On landing in Bangkok last week, Thaksin’s first public act was to prostrate himself in homage before a portrait of the king at the airport.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2023

Opinion

Editorial

PTI in disarray
Updated 30 Nov, 2024

PTI in disarray

PTI’s protest plans came abruptly undone because key decisions were swayed by personal ambitions rather than political wisdom and restraint.
Tired tactics
30 Nov, 2024

Tired tactics

Matiullah's arrest appears to be a case of the state’s overzealous and misplaced application of the law.
Smog struggle
30 Nov, 2024

Smog struggle

AS smog continues to shroud parts of Pakistan, an Ipsos survey highlights the scope of this environmental hazard....
Solidarity with Palestine
Updated 29 Nov, 2024

Solidarity with Palestine

The wretched of the earth see in the Palestinian struggle against Israel a mirror of themselves.
Little relief for public
29 Nov, 2024

Little relief for public

INFLATION, the rate of increase in the prices of goods and services over a given period of time, has receded...
Right to education
29 Nov, 2024

Right to education

IT is troubling to learn that over 16,500 students of the University of Karachi (KU) have defaulted on fee payments...