Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is in good health and his family is preparing to discuss arrangements regarding his expected parole in May, says daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
Ms Paetongtarn and her husband Pidok Sooksawas visited Thaksin at Klongprem Central Prison at 10am on Thursday. They were accompanied by Thaksin’s lawyer, Winyat Chatmontri.
After about an hour inside the prison, Ms Paetongtarn told reporters that the visit was routine and focused on updates about daily life.
“My father’s health is still strong and he is doing well,” said Ms Paetongtarn, also a former prime minister.
March 9 will mark six months of detention for Thaksin. Asked how she felt, Ms Paetongtarn paused briefly before replying that it felt like a long time.
“It does feel long. We encourage each other, saying that in about two more months he should be able to come out,” she said. “We will continue to support him and keep his spirits up every day.”
Asked whether she would serve as Thaksin’s guarantor and whether he would stay at the family residence during his parole, Ms Paetongtarn said the family would need to discuss the matter further.
The Shinawatra family’s Ban Chan Song La residence is located on Charan Sanitwong Soi 69 in Bang Phlat district of Bangkok.
Ms Paetongtarn then thanked the media before leaving the prison compound, where a group of red-shirt supporters had gathered to show support for the family.
Earlier, Mr Winyat said Thaksin’s legal team was proceeding with steps related to the parole process in accordance with ministerial regulations and the Corrections Act.
The case is expected to be submitted for consideration this month, as previously indicated by the justice minister, said the lawyer.
Under the criteria for early release, an inmate must serve two-thirds of the total sentence. In Thaksin’s case, this amounts to eight months, with May 9 expected to be the release date.
If the requirements are met and he is granted release, Mr Winyat said it would be positive for Thaksin, his family and members of the public awaiting the decision.
Thaksin, 76, has been behind bars 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.
