Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been released from prison after spending eight months behind bars, marking another dramatic chapter in Thailand’s turbulent political history.
The 76-year-old left Bangkok’s Klong Prem prison on Monday to cheers from hundreds of supporters dressed in red, the symbolic colour of his political movement. Wearing a white shirt and appearing relaxed, Thaksin told reporters he was in good health and felt relieved after his release.
Family members welcomed him outside the prison, including his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who remains one of the leading figures of the Pheu Thai party.
Thaksin’s release immediately reignited debate about his future influence in Thai politics, despite repeated claims from Pheu Thai officials that he plans to stay out of active political life.
A billionaire businessman turned politician, Thaksin dominated Thailand’s political landscape after becoming prime minister in 2001. His populist policies won strong support among rural and working-class voters, but also fierce opposition from Thailand’s conservative royalist establishment.
He was removed from office in a military coup in 2006, before spending years in self-imposed exile to avoid corruption-related prison sentences. Even from abroad, however, he remained a powerful figure, continuing to guide parties linked to his political movement.
His return to Thailand in 2023 followed what many observers described as an informal compromise with conservative forces, allowing him to come home while his party returned to government.
But tensions quickly resurfaced. Last year, Thailand’s Supreme Court ruled that the months he spent in a police hospital after his return were intended to help him avoid prison, leading to his incarceration.
At nearly the same time, the Constitutional Court removed his daughter Paetongtarn from office as prime minister following controversy over a leaked phone conversation related to Thailand’s border tensions with Cambodia.
While Thaksin was serving his sentence, Pheu Thai suffered a major setback in the February general election, recording its weakest performance in years. The party fell behind both the reformist People’s Party and the conservative Bhumjaithai party, which gained support amid rising nationalist sentiment.
Political analysts believe Thailand has entered a different political phase where Thaksin’s influence may no longer be as dominant as before.
Although many supporters still see him as a leader capable of helping ordinary citizens, his strained relationship with conservative institutions and repeated court battles continue to limit his political future.
For many observers, the release of Thaksin symbolises not a political comeback, but the possible end of an era that shaped Thailand’s politics for more than two decades.
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