Former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra seeks royal pardon, lawyer says

29/9/2025 17:22

Thailand's influential former Prime Minster Thaksin Shinawatra has submitted a petition for a royal pardon for his one year jail sentence, his lawyer said on Monday.



The former premier was jailed earlier this month after the country's Supreme Court ruled that he did not serve his initial prison sentence after spending six months in a VIP wing of a hospital following his return from 15 years of self-exile in August 2023.



Thaksin, 76, was initially sentenced to eight years in jail for conflicts of interest and abuse of power while he was prime minister from 2001 to 2006. His sentence was later commuted to one year by the king.



Thaksin's request for royal pardon, a process applicable to all prisoners who have completed their legal cases, could lead to the reduction of his current prison time.