Thailand’s convicted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was released today from Bangkok’s Klong Prem Central Prison after being allowed to complete the remaining four months of his one-year sentence on parole. Thaksin made a public appearance this morning, reuniting with family members in front of the prison, where he had served two-thirds of his sentence as required under standard parole criteria.
According to the Department of Corrections, Thaksin was among over 850 inmates granted early release at a parole committee meeting last month, citing his age of over 70 and the fact that he had less than a year of jail time left to justify the eligibility. The department has said that he must comply with strict probation conditions, including wearing an electronic monitoring device.