Former Thai prime minister Thaksin let out of prison early

Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was released from prison on parole on Monday.

In September 2025, the Supreme Court had ordered the 76-year-old telecommunications billionaire to serve one year in prison for a past corruption conviction.

Thaksin walked free from Klong Prem Central Prison in Bangkok around 7:40 am local time (00:40 UTC).

He hugged waiting family members and greeted the several hundred supporters wearing the signature red shirts of Thaksin's Pheu Thai party who had gathered outside the jail.

The corrections department announced Thaksin's parole in April, citing his age and that he had less than a year left to serve as reasons for early release. He will be required to wear an electronic monitor during his four-month probation period.

Thaksin will return to the Shinawatra family home in Thonburi, just south of the capital Bangkok, according to the Thai Examiner.

Will Thaksin return to the political spotlight?

For two decades, Thaksin has been a key rival of Thailand's pro-military, pro-monarchy elite.

He was first elected as prime minister in 2001 on the back of populist promises of prosperity for the rural poor. Re-elected by an overwhelming majority in 2005, he was ousted in a military coup in 2006.

He fled Thailand in 2008 after being found guilty of conflict of interest, abuse of power and corruption during his time in office.

Upon his return to Thailand in 2023, he was sentenced to an eight-year prison term.

But he was only in prison for a few hours before complaining of chest pains and was moved to a hospital. He spent six months there before being freed on parole. The king later commuted his sentence to one year.

After his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra was dismissed as prime minister in August 2025, a court ruled that Thaksin and his doctors had unnecessarily prolonged his hospital stay. He was ordered to serve the one-year prison sentence for those past convictions.

Although his Pheu Thai Party had its worst-ever performance in February 2026 elections, it is part of the governing coalition.

The government is led by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and his conservative Bhumjaithai Party. Unlike Thaksin, Anutin is widely viewed as being strongly supported by Thailand's influential military and royalist elites.

Thaksin's nephew, Yodchanan Wongsawat, is the minister of higher education in the current cabinet.

His daughter Paetongtarn, Anutin's predecessor, told reporters last week after meeting Thaksin in prison that they had "not discussed anything about politics" and only spoken about family.