Thailand’s Former Prime Minister Thaksin Sentenced to a Year in Jail

Thailand’s Supreme Court has sentenced former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to one year in prison, ruling that his prior hospital stay in lieu of incarceration was unlawful. Thaksin, 76, who served as prime minister from 2001 until his ouster in a 2006 coup, returned from 15 years of self-imposed exile in 2023 and was initially sentenced to eight years on charges of corruption, abuse of power, and conflict of interest. His term was subsequently commuted to one year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, before he was released on parole in February 2024, having spent his confinement in a hospital rather than a prison cell.