BANGKOK — Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been approved for parole without the requirement to wear an electronic monitoring device, with his release scheduled for May 11 following a meeting of a Ministry of Justice parole committee that reviewed more than 500 eligible inmates nationwide.

Thaksin Shinawatra Set to Walk Free on Parole in May

The decision was reached on Wednesday after a meeting chaired by Tharinee Saengsawang, the ministry’s deputy permanent secretary. The session lasted more than three hours and included representatives from multiple agencies, including the Department of Corrections, the Department of Probation, the Department of Rights and Liberties Protection, the Office of the Attorney-General, the Royal Thai Police and others.

The committee agreed that Thaksin, currently held at Klong Prem Central Prison, qualified for parole and would not be required to wear an EM ankle bracelet. The exemption was granted on the grounds that he is over 70 years old and has underlying medical conditions that make continuous monitoring impractical or unnecessarily burdensome.

Thaksin, 76, has been behind bars since September 9 last year, when the Supreme Court ordered him to serve a one-year sentence for abuse of authority and conflict of interest while serving as prime minister prior to the 2006 military coup that ousted him from power. The court notably ruled that it did not recognise Thaksin’s prolonged stay in a VIP ward at the Police General Hospital during 2023 and 2024 as qualifying for prison time, a decision that reset the clock on his incarceration.

BREAKING: Justice Ministry panel approves parole for Thaksin Shinawatra on 11 May after meeting the two-thirds sentence threshold

No EM bracelet required due to age of over 70 and health conditions. He will serve the remaining four months under probation. #Thailand #Thaksin pic.twitter.com/BSm2tn7nBo

— Khaosod English (@KhaosodEnglish) April 29, 2026

As of May 11, Thaksin will have served two-thirds of his one-year sentence, the minimum threshold required for parole eligibility under Thai regulations. Corrections officials said the resolution would be submitted to the commander of Klong Prem Central Prison and probation officials to prepare for Thaksin’s release on that date. He will then remain under probation supervision for the remaining four months of his term.

Under standard probation conditions, parolees are required to report regularly to probation officers, reside at an approved address, comply with the law and refrain from activities that could lead to reoffending. Movement outside designated areas requires prior approval, and violations may result in parole revocation. However, given Thaksin’s age, health status and political stature, it remains to be seen how strictly these conditions will be enforced.

The decision to grant parole without electronic monitoring is likely to be controversial, given Thaksin’s high profile and the widespread expectation that he would at minimum be required to wear an ankle bracelet. His supporters will see the decision as a just recognition of his age and health; his opponents will view it as yet another example of preferential treatment for the powerful.

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Thaksin’s release on May 11 will mark the end of his formal incarceration, though he will remain subject to probation conditions for four additional months. The former prime minister, who has lived in self-exile for much of the past two decades, has been a polarising figure in Thai politics since his ouster in 2006. His return to Thailand last year and subsequent imprisonment were seen as a gamble: a calculation that the political winds had shifted enough to allow him to come home without immediate arrest. He was arrested, convicted and imprisoned, but less than a year later, he is walking free again—without even an electronic tag to mark his movements. For Thaksin, the gamble paid off. For his critics, the outcome was never really in doubt.

-Thailand News (TN)