Former Thai PM Thaksin among pardonees in king’s amnesty

Bangkok, Aug 18 (IANS) Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been included in a royal pardon to end his jail term earlier than scheduled, his lawyer Winyat Chatmontree has said.

Winyat made the confirmation on Saturday following an earlier issued Royal Gazette, which announced that three categories of prisoners will be pardoned on the occasion of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s 72nd birthday anniversary, Xinhua news agency reported.The royal pardon will take effect on Sunday, allowing Thaksin, who is currently on parole, to be free two weeks earlier than the scheduled date.Winyat added that the former prime minister will receive a certificate from the prison assuring his freedom.The 74-year-old former prime minister returned to Thailand from self-exile last year and was previously convicted of multiple charges. He was released on parole in February from a police hospital in Bangkok, where he spent six months serving a one-year prison sentence.Thaksin served as the Southeast Asian country’s prime minister from 2001 to 2006 and had been in self-exile abroad since 2008.–IANSint/sha