BANGKOK: Thailand’s self-exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra plans to return to the country on Aug 10, his daughter said on Wednesday (Jul 26), facing a potential jail term and amid a prolonged political crisis following a May general election.
“Dad is returning on Aug 10 at Don Muang Airport,” Paetongtarn Shinawatra said in a social media post, referring to an airport in the capital Bangkok. “This decision to come home is something that dad has seriously spoken about since the beginning of 2022.”
Thaksin, 74, made a fortune in the telecommunications business and was prime minister from 2001 until he was ousted in a 2006 coup. He currently lives in self-imposed exile after fleeing Thailand to avoid a jail sentence for graft in 2008.
The Pheu Thai party backed by Thaksin is currently attempting to form a government in Thailand, after coming second in the May 14 general election.
Thailand’s deputy national police chief Surachate Hakparn said Thaksin would be subject to the judicial process upon his planned return.
He faces up to 10 years in jail for multiple cases in which he was convicted by the country’s supreme court, charges he says were politically motivated.
“The police will conduct their duties normally when the plane lands. He will have to go to court and listen to what they decide,” Surachate told Reuters.
Thaksin had previously indicated he would return to Thailand in July.
Source: CNA
