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Thailand's former PM Thaksin Shinawatra released from prison
The former Thai prime minister is being paroled after eight months and must wear an electronic monitoring device for four months, officials said.
On May 11, 76-year-old former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra is set to walk out of a Bangkok prison following parole approval, returning to a transformed political landscape after serving eight months.
The Corrections Department approved the parole after Thaksin served eight months of a 12-month corruption sentence, which was previously commuted from eight years by royal pardon.
Improvement in his "attitude and behavior" justified the early release, though he must wear an electronic monitoring device for four months following past disputes regarding hospital-based imprisonment.
His daughter, former prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, told reporters on Thursday they had "not discussed anything about politics," focusing only on family matters during their prison meeting.
Loyal Red Shirt supporters have pledged to await his release, though Thaksin returns to a landscape reshaped by the Bhumjaithai Party's recent electoral victory in February.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been released from a Bangkok prison after serving eight months of a year-long sentence there on a corruption-related charge. Hundreds of people, including the 76-year-old billionaire's family and political allies, greeted him on Monday, chanting "We love Thaksin" as he emerged from Klong Prem Central Prison. Thaksin remade and dominated Thai politics for a quarter of a century, but his influence …