Thailand’s jailed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has left the hospital where he spent six months in detention.
Gatekeepers News reports that Thaksin’s detention followed his return to the kingdom after more than 15 years of self-imposed exile.
The ex-PM, wearing a neck brace and a surgical mask, was seen early on Sunday in a vehicle leaving the Police General Hospital in central Bangkok.
He was taken to his home in western Bangkok, where a banner with the words “Welcome home” and “We’ve been waiting for this day for so so long” was hanging at the front gate.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said earlier this week that Thaksin, who was jailed for eight years on corruption charges before his sentence was reduced to one year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, would be released on parole.
The exact details of Thaksin’s parole are unclear but the return of his Pheu Thai party to power in a coalition with the pro-military Palang Pracharath Party and United Thai Nation has fuelled rumours that a backroom deal was struck to reduce his time in jail, which the government has denied.
