Thailand's influential former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, who is serving a one-year prison term for corruption, is set to be released on parole in May, according to a Department of Corrections statement on Wednesday.

Shinawatra, 76, will leave prison on May 11 and must comply with all conditions until his probation ends, including wearing an electronic monitor, the statement said. His age and the fact that he had less than a year left to serve justified his early release.

Shinawatra began his sentence on September 9, 2023, at Bangkok's Klong Prem Central Prison, following a court hearing on his return to Thailand in 2023 after years of self-exile. He was ousted in a 2006 military coup and fled in 2008 facing charges of conflict of interest, abuse of power, and corruption.

A billionaire businessman, Shinawatra has claimed the charges were politically motivated. Upon his return in 2023, he was sentenced to eight years in prison, but the king commuted the sentence to one year days later, fueling speculation of a deal with the government.

Source: www.dw.com