Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been released from a prison in Bangkok after spending eight months of a one-year sentence there over a corruption-related charge.

Hundreds of people, including the 76-year-old billionaire’s family and political allies, greeted him on Monday, chanting, “We love Thakisn” as he left the Klong Prem Central Prison.

Thaksin remade ⁠and dominated Thai politics for a quarter-century, but his influence has waned of late following his jailing and his once formidable Pheu Thai Party’s worst election performance on record ⁠earlier this year.

His hair closely cropped and in a simple white shirt, Thaksin walked out of prison at about 7:40am local time (00:40 GMT) and was immediately surrounded by family members, including his daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was sacked as prime minister by ‌a court order in August last year, weeks before his imprisonment.

He smiled brightly as he walked around to greet his supporters, but left without speaking to reporters.

Thaksin had served as prime minister from 2001 until a military coup toppled him in 2006, while he was abroad.

After 15 years in self-exile, he returned to Thailand in 2023 to face an eight-year sentence for conflicts of interest and ⁠abuse of power relating to his time in office. That sentence ⁠had been commuted to one year by the king.

But he was in prison for only a few hours following his homecoming before complaining of heart trouble and chest pains. He then spent six months in the VIP ⁠wing of a hospital until he was freed on parole.

In September last year, the Supreme Court ruled that Thaksin must serve ⁠that time in prison, concluding that he and his doctors ⁠had intentionally prolonged his hospital stay with minor surgeries that were unnecessary.

A Ministry of Justice panel agreed last month to grant him parole as part of a review of more than 900 eligible prisoners’ cases, citing his good behaviour in prison, his age and the low risk that he would repeat his offence.

According to the corrections department, Thaksin will be required to wear an electronic ankle monitor for the remainder of his sentence.

In a video streamed by the Thairath news outlet on Monday, Thaksin was seen rolling down the car window to greet a small group of supporters outside his home in western Bangkok and responding to reporters’ shouted questions that “I was in hibernation; I can’t remember anything now”.

Thaksin’s Pheu Thai Party, which slipped to third place in February’s elections, joined the governing coalition of conservative Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

Thaksin’s nephew, Yodchanan Wongsawat, who became Pheu Thai’s standard-bearer ahead of the February election, was made minister of higher education in Anutin’s cabinet.

Thaksin’s daughter, Paetongtarn, became the country’s youngest prime minister in 2024, but was removed from office by Thailand’s Constitutional Court after a recording was released of a compromising phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen. (Al Jazeera)

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Thailand’s Supreme Court has ruled that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra must serve one year in prison, in a watershed case for the kingdom.

The court issued its ruling on Tuesday in a review of whether Thaksin’s stay in the private room of a police hospital from 2023 to early 2024 counted as time served towards an earlier prison sentence.

Thaksin, 76, was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment in 2023 for fraud and abuse of power following his surprise return to Thailand after 15 years in exile.

His sentence was commuted to one year by the king, and he was later released early due to his age.

Despite the seriousness of the charges, the former premier never spent a day in prison and instead remained in hospital due to health concerns.

“Of all the options that were on the table, either complete release or some form of home arrest, this is the worst option,” said Al Jazeera correspondent Tony Cheng from Bangkok.

Cheng said that the verdict would be unsurprising for many Thais.

“People were quite disappointed he spent all that time in police hospital; he didn’t even end up serving a night in jail in the end. I think this will be seen as some kind of justifiable sentence for the crimes that many people feel that he was guilty of during his time in power,” he said.

Thaksin’s return to prison marks the latest blow for his troubled political dynasty, which has held sway over Thai politics for 25 years.

The billionaire businessman served as prime minister from 2001 until 2006, when he was ousted by a military coup. He left Thailand in 2008, but his Pheu Thai party and its allies have remained highly influential ever since.

Despite wielding influence from abroad, Thaksin was never able to regain his former popularity following his return to Thailand, according to Cheng.

“It was felt that this could be a second coming for Thaksin, but over the past two years we’ ve really seen his influence wane. He wasn’t able to bring to bear that dynamism that we had seen before,” he said.

Thaksin’s Pheu Thai party returned to power in 2023, but last week it was ousted by the Bhumjaithai Party, its one-time ally and coalition partner.

It was the second setback in as many weeks after Thaksin’s daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, was formally removed from her post as prime minister over her mishandling of a border conflict with Cambodia.

She held the post for less than a year.

Last week, Thaksin generated speculation online that he might once again try to flee Thailand after he made an unexpected trip to Dubai – a city where he spent time in exile in the past.

Thaksin’s private plane was bound for Singapore on Thursday night when it suddenly rerouted midair to the Middle East, raising questions online about whether he intended to return.

Thaksin said on social media that the change was due to problems at a Singaporean airport, and he intended to return to Bangkok following a medical check up. (Al Jazeera)

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