He is in good spirits, assures daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was also prime minister but was recently forced out after being convicted by the constitutional court, on the spot outside the court.
My father continues to be a spiritual leader.
Will he leave?
Thaksin Shinawatra, who has spent 15 years in exile, was sentenced in 2023 to eight years in prison for, among other things, corruption and abuse of power. But he only spent a few hours in prison. Instead, he was almost immediately taken to a private room in a hospital.
His sentence was later shortened after a royal pardon to one year in prison, and he was released after six months.
Now, Thailand's Supreme Court has ruled that Thaksin did not serve his sentence properly. The 76-year-old is therefore sentenced to one year in prison. The question is whether this is the end of his colorful and populist dynasty? The Shinawatra family has challenged the country's conservative and military elites for decades, making them the subject of military coups and lawsuits.
Political scientist Titipol Phakdeewanich at Ubon Ratchathani University does not think that the last word has been said.
I do not think that Thaksin will just leave politics, he says.
When it comes to Thaksin, we should not underestimate his ability to get away through legal loopholes.
Sister and daughter
Thaksin Shinawatra comes from Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, where he worked as a police officer before entering the business world and making a fortune in the telecommunications industry. He was elected prime minister in 2001 and became the first democratically elected prime minister to complete a term in Thailand. But after allegations of corruption, he went into self-imposed exile for 15 years.
His sister Yingluck Shinawatra later became prime minister between 2011 and 2014.
Last year, Thaksin's daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra took over and became the country's youngest prime minister to date when she took office, 38 years old. At the end of August, she was forced out of the post, after the constitutional court ruled that she had broken ethical rules and endangered the country's national interests. This was after she, according to critics, appeared subservient and flattering towards Cambodia's leader in a leaked phone call.
