National—
At 6:33 AM, on February 18th, 2024, Thai national media reported the arrival of Thai former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to the “Chan Song La” Manor in Bang Phlat, Bangkok.
He was greeted by hundreds of reporters and a handmade sign made by his adult children, including daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the Pheu Thai leader, who accompanied him home. Thaksin was wearing a neck and arm brace and no official explanation was given for why he was wearing them.
Thaksin had never served a single full day in prison and was instead in a special hospital ward for his entire sentence prior to parole for alleged significant health problems. The nature of the problems had never been released to the public, with Thaksin’s family and lawyers saying it would be a violation of health privacy laws.
Opponents of Thaksin’s release had continually protested his stay in the hospital, saying it was in the public interest to release his health conditions and allow an independent doctor of their choice to examine Thaksin and determine if he truly needed to be in a hospital or if he could be returned to a normal prison. Despite multiple attempts and protests, however, Thaksin remained in the hospital.
The Thai Department of Corrections assigned officials from Bangkok Remand Prison to visit Thaksin who was paroled in accordance with Thai laws with related documents, according to Thai media.
After Thaksin signed his signature to agree to terms and conditions such as reporting to officials at least electronically every three days during parole, Thaksin was officially released on probation where other than legal and official appointments he would need to stay home for six months, Thai media reported.
However, Thaksin was facing a possible offense under Section 112 and a violation of the Computer Crimes Act for allegedly disseminating false information.
Thaksin reportedly violated the laws outside the Kingdom of Thailand on May 21st, 2015, in Seoul, South Korea.
Therefore, it was the Attorney General’s responsibility to follow up on the case. The Thai Technology Crime Suppression Division planned to file a letter to the prosecutor at the Ratchada Criminal Justice Office to sign an acknowledgment of the charges.
It was reported that at least three months was a minimum requirement for the Attorney General to investigate additional offenses before taking the case to court.
As of press time however, the charges had not officially been placed and there were some questions over if they would be, with both opponents and supporters of Thaksin having differing opinions over the issue.
This article originally appeared on our sister website The Pattaya News.
