Thailand's Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to serve one year in jail, ruling that his transfer to a hospital after his initial arrest unlawfully allowed him to serve part of a previous prison sentence.
The ruling, tied to a long-running corruption conviction from Thaksin's time as prime minister, concluded that the former leader had not lawfully served the sentence during a six‑month stay in the Police General Hospital. The case, widely known in Thailand as the "14th floor case" because of the hospital floor where he was treated, has drawn intense public attention over whether the 76‑year‑old would ultimately face time behind bars.
Thaksin, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and spent years living in self‑imposed exile, returned to Thailand in 2023 and was promptly tried and convicted of corruption and abuse of power related to his premiership. He was sentenced to eight years in prison and, after a plea for clemency, King Maha Vajiralongkorn commuted that sentence to one year.
He initially spent less than a day in a jail cell before being transferred to the Police General Hospital after reporting heart problems. He remained in the hospital for about six months, later received parole and returned to his home in Bangkok. The Supreme Court case examined whether that transfer and period in hospital were lawful and whether his reported illness justified treatment outside prison.
Accompanying Thaksin to the courtroom, his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra — who until last month served as leader of the Pheu Thai party before being removed after a constitutional court ruling tied to a leaked phone call with Cambodia's Hun Sen — said she was "worried" but that the family were in "good spirits." She told reporters she would continue to lead the Pheu Thai party's work as an opposition force.
The ruling is the latest blow to the Shinawatra political dynasty, which has shaped Thai politics since Thaksin's first electoral victory in 2001. Critics and supporters alike have followed the case closely as a test of the judiciary's handling of high‑profile political figures and of the broader accountability of politicians in Thailand.
The Supreme Court's decision requires Thaksin to serve the one‑year sentence in jail. Court officials did not immediately detail the timing of his incarceration or the procedural steps that would follow the ruling.