(Jan 20): Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, serving a one-year sentence in a Bangkok prison for corruption, may be eligible to be released on parole in May, raising the possibility that the influential politician may play a role in the country’s politics again. A committee consisting of justice, corrections and law enforcement officials must approve his parole, it said. “There is no discrimination or action taken outside the scope of the law.”Including Thaksin himself, the extended Shinawatra clan has provided four Thai premiers this century. He spent only a few hours in jail in 2023 before being moved to the hospital, citing illnesses, and was released on parole in 2024. Thaksin also previously submitted a petition seeking another royal pardon weeks after his imprisonment.

Source: The Edge Markets January 20, 2026 07:24 UTC