Bangkok: A Thai justice committee on Wednesday officially approved parole for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, ruling that the 76-year-old billionaire will be required to wear an electronic monitoring (EM) bracelet upon his release. The Ministry of Justice's parole committee reached the decision after a meeting lasting more than three hours.
According to Thai News Agency, Thaksin is scheduled to be released on May 11, after which he will serve a four-month probation period. Today's decision marks the final administrative hurdle, following prior approvals from both the prison-level and Department of Corrections-level parole boards.
Under the terms of his parole, Thaksin will remain under supervision until his full sentence concludes on September 9, having completed two-thirds of his one-year term since returning to Thailand last year. Thaksin returned to Thailand in August 2023 after 15 years of self-imposed exile to face convictions for corruption and abuse of power. While originally sentenced to eight years, his term was reduced to one year via royal clemency.
His imprisonment has been a subject of significant legal debate; after spending much of his initial term in a hospital wing rather than a cell, the Supreme Court ruled in late 2025 that he must serve the remaining year in a correctional facility, leading to his current imprisonment at Klong Prem Central Prison.