Thaksin may return under royal amnesty
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra may return to Thailand under an amnesty being discussed by the country's cabinet.
The Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, who is Mr Thaksin's younger sister, is drawing up the terms of the amnesty which is granted each year on 5 December, the birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Those receiving pardons must be at least 60 years old and sentenced to less than three years in prison.
Mr Thaksin, 62, lives in exile in Dubai and had been sentenced to two years for corruption. He was ousted in a coup in 2006 and fled Thailand in 2008. His rivals formed a government but they lost elections earlier this year that brought Ms Yingluck to power in a landslide victory. She is widely seen as a proxy for Mr Thaksin, who remains extremely popular among the rural poor.
He is an extremely divisive figure in Thai politics, and any pardon for him is likely to inflame divisions between his supporters and opponents. Two months of protests in the capital Bangkok last year by pro-Thaksin "Red Shirt" demonstrators deteriorated into violence, leaving at least 91 people dead and 1,400 wounded. Mr Thaksin's return would infuriate his foes in the Bangkok-based elites in the military, palace and bureaucracy.
Opponents accuse Mr Thaksin, a telecommunications tycoon, of illegally amassing great wealth during nearly six years in power. But his supporters say his corruption conviction was the result of a political vendetta.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments