National —
On August 17th, 2024, Justice Minister Pol. Col. Thawee Sodsong addressed the recent Royal Decree granting amnesty in 2024, which includes former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, currently on a suspended sentence.
Pol. Col. Thawee stated that Thaksin, the father of the new PM-elect Paetongtarn Shinawatra, is among those who have been pardoned, leading to his immediate release and legal exoneration.
He clarified that the process of issuing a certificate of innocence would be handled by the Department of Corrections and the Probation Department. The amnesty, however, applied broadly to all eligible prisoners, offering sentence reductions or outright release depending on their cases.
Approximately 31,000 inmates were expected to benefit from this decree, though not all would be released. The Department of Corrections would provide further details to the public.
In a related matter, Thaksin is scheduled for a court hearing on August 19th, 2024. This follows charges filed against him on June 18th, 2024, at the Ratchadapisek Criminal Court for allegedly violating Section 112 of the Criminal Code, also known as Lèse-Majesté, due to a 2015 interview in South Korea.
The case, involving both Lèse-Majesté and the Computer Crimes Act, has seen Thaksin deny the charges, and his legal team is preparing for the upcoming evidence review hearing.
