Former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra Released from Prison

Former Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, was released early from prison in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, on Monday (11/5). The 76-year-old telecommunications billionaire had served eight months of a one-year prison sentence for corruption. He will be required to wear an electronic monitoring device during his four-month probation period. According to AFP news agency on Monday (11/5/2026), Thaksin hugged his family members outside the prison, where hundreds of supporters wearing their signature red shirts had gathered. Some of them shouted “we love Thaksin”. “Thaksin may be absent for a few months, but he will not leave politics,” said his supporter, Janthana Chaidej, who took a day off from her job as a restaurant cook to show her support for Thaksin. Thaksin, who will be on probation until September, has other pending criminal cases against him. “I hibernated for eight months,” Thaksin told reporters, adding that he felt “relieved” after being released. Thaksin’s political machine over two decades has been a major rival to Thailand’s pro-military and pro-monarchy elite, who view his populist image as a threat to the traditional social order. His party, Pheu Thai, has been the most successful political party in the country in the 21st century, with the Shinawatra family producing four prime ministers and gaining widespread support from rural residents. However, Pheu Thai suffered its worst election result in February, dropping to third place and raising questions about the future of the Thaksin dynasty. Nevertheless, Pheu Thai’s entry into the coalition government of conservative Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has opened the possibility of Thaksin’s return to the political world. For his loyal supporters, Thaksin’s release “will strengthen Pheu Thai in the short term because people will feel that the owner of Pheu Thai has returned,” said political science lecturer Wanwichit Boonprong.