THE Former Prime Minister of Thailand who returned to the country last year after more than a decade of self-imposed exile will soon walk out of prison after he was granted parole.
Thaksin Shinawatra, one of the most controversial figures in Thailand, is set for prison release this month.
Thaksin was one of the 930 prisoners who were granted parole.
Requirements for parole include being handicapped or being over the age of 70.
The 74-year-old Former Prime Minister has shown health problems since he was detained last year.
The controversial political figure and business tycoon was ousted from power through a military coup in 2006.
He returned to the country in August of last year after spending 15 years in self-imposed exile.
His return to Thailand coincides with the return of the ruling Pheu Thai Party to the government after Srettha Thavisin, one of its candidates, was elected as Thailand’s new prime minister in the same month.
He was sentenced to eight years in prison due to corruption and abuse of power but the King of Thailand reduced his sentence to one year in September.
In the same month, his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra was elected as the new leader of Pheu Thai, a political party Thaksin founded in 2007.
The Former Prime Minister only spent hours in prison and was immediately transferred to a hospital where he stayed for almost six months until he was recently granted parole.
No specific timeline has been announced yet but the Former Prime Minister could be released this weekend.
