Thaksin ‘expected to be paroled in May’

Corrections source says ex-PM will qualify once he has served two-thirds of sentence

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is expected to be granted parole in May, when he will have served two-thirds of his one-year prison term, according to a source at the Department of Corrections.

News of the possible parole was widely reported by Thai media on Thursday after Thaksin’s family visited him at Klongprem Central Prison.

Pidok Sooksawas, husband of Thaksin’s daughter and former prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, arrived at the prison on Ngamwongwan Road in Bangkok at 9.50am.

He was accompanied by Thaksin’s lawyer Winyat Chatmontree amid a heavy media presence, with supporters from the red-shirt movement gathered outside the prison gates.

According to a source at the department, inmate classification reviews are normally conducted four times a year — in March, April, August and December — in accordance with the 2019 ministerial regulation governing inmate privileges and conditions for sentence reduction, parole and release.

Consideration is based on factors such as conduct during incarceration, participation in public service activities, certification of good behaviour, length of sentence and time already served.

In Thaksin’s case, he was sentenced by the Supreme Court to one year in prison and taken into custody on Sept 9, 2025. As he did not meet the qualifying period in time for the December review round, his inmate classification has not yet been upgraded from medium to good, according to the source, who asked not to be named.

However, this was not a major concern, as Thaksin met the criteria for general parole, said the source. For inmates serving a one-year sentence, eligibility for parole requires completion of two-thirds of the term, or eight months.

Thaksin is therefore expected to qualify for parole in May this year, said the source.

‘Good spirits’

After the visit, Mr Pidok told reporters that his father-in-law was in good spirits and feeling less lonely, as he has been able to follow news reports and watch political debates.

The former prime minister asked him to convey encouragement to all Pheu Thai Party candidates contesting the Feb 8 general election.

Thaksin also expressed deep sorrow about the accident in which a crane collapsed onto a moving train in Nakhon Ratchasima, killing 32 people on Wednesday.

He asked that his condolences be conveyed to the families of those injured and killed and said the accident should never have happened, according to Mr Pidok.

When asked whether Mr Thaksin had offered any views or recommendations on construction standards or transport infrastructure, Mr Pidok said they had not discussed the issue in detail.

Mr Pidok ended the interview and walked away to greet red-shirt supporters who had showed up to give their encouragement to the former prime minister.

Thaksin, 76, has been in Klongprem Central Prison in Bangkok since Sept 9 last year, when the Supreme Court ordered him to actually serve his one-year sentence for abuse of authority and conflict of interest while serving as prime minister prior to 2006.

The court did not recognise Thaksin’s prolonged stay at Police General Hospital in 2023-24 as qualifying for prison time.

Thaksin returned to Thailand on Aug 22, 2023, after more than 15 years of self-exile abroad.

The billionaire patriarch of the Pheu Thai Party was immediately sentenced to eight years in prison — later reduced to one year by royal clemency.

He was taken to Bangkok Remand Prison but was moved to Police General Hospital the same night, only 13 hours after he entered the prison.