Thai ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra freed from parole by royal pardon

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is set to be freed from parole restrictions on Tuesday, June 3, 2026, following a royal pardon granted on the occasion of Queen Suthida Vajiralongkorn's birthday. The influential 76-year-old tycoon had been on parole since May 11, 2026, after serving eight months in a Bangkok maximum-security prison. His original one-year sentence was for a maneuver to evade jail in 2023, as determined by the Supreme Court.

The royal decree allows for the release of parolees with less than a year remaining on their sentence or those who have already served at least one-third of their term. Thaksin qualifies under these provisions. His parole had required him to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and report to authorities periodically, measures that will now be lifted.

Justice Minister Police General Ruddhaphol Naowarat confirmed Thaksin's inclusion in the pardon, though the full scope of the decree has not been detailed. He stated that the monitoring bracelet could be removed immediately, pending administrative procedures by provincial committees, according to Thai PBS.

Thaksin, who has not yet commented on the pardon, remains a significant, albeit informal, power behind the progressive Pheu Thai party, which is part of the current ruling coalition. Once an adversary of the military and conservative forces, he returned to Thailand in August 2023 to serve his sentences. He was allowed to remain hospitalized under custody instead of entering prison directly. After six months of hospitalization, he was moved to house arrest, which he completed in August 2024. His hospitalization was deemed an evasion of prison by the Supreme Court, leading to his current conviction. Uncertainty persists regarding his potential official return to politics.

“

can be removed immediately