National—
On January 17th, 2024, Mr. Somboon Muangklam, the advisor to the Thai Minister of Justice, and relevant officials held a press conference regarding Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra’s case in dispute.
Somboon publicly revealed that Thaksin was receiving medical treatment outside the prison for more than 120 days, however, it was following the procedures of the Director-General of the Thai Department of Corrections.
“Reports must be approved by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice and Minister of Justice after receiving medical treatment outside the prison for 60 days and 120 days, respectively,” said Somboon.
In the case of Thaksin, the 136-day (as of January 17) medical treatment at Police General Hospital met the current criteria and complied with Thai law, remarked Somboon.
Mr. Sitthi Sutivong, the deputy director-general of the Thai Department of Corrections, mentioned in the case of parole that it was a right for inmates to be scrutinized by each prison commander.
However, the inmates could not present themselves as each prison would review whether they were in appropriate criteria every month. Then the names would be submitted to the Thai Department of Corrections and be brought to a committee to consider the parole accordingly.
“In the case of Thaksin, he was eligible for parole as he was classified as a medium-grade prisoner, aged more than 70, and had various health problems. However, the Thai Department of Corrections had no information and report from Bangkok Remand Prison on whether his name would be submitted or not in the near future,” remarked Sitthi.
“If Thaksin were released for parole, further processes would be requested by Bangkok Remand Prison for documentation, electronic monitoring (EM), and other guidelines. Furthermore, the parole committee would consider whether Thaksin would be subjected to wear EM or not and reasons must be stated,” said Sitthi.
Any inmates who were eligible for parole must follow the Corrections procedures including reporting oneself to probation officers monthly, presenting the name of a guardian, and staying within specific areas during their parole. As for participating in any political parties, if it was not a violation or doing something that is against the regulations, it was acceptable, said Sitthi.
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