On a muggy September morning in Bangkok, the political fate of one of Thailand’s most influential—and polarizing—figures was sealed. The Supreme Court ruled on September 9, 2025, that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra must serve a one-year prison term for previous convictions of graft and abuse of power, ending months of speculation about whether his brief hospital stay would count as time served. For a nation accustomed to dramatic political reversals, this decision was both a watershed and a familiar echo of the past.
Thaksin, now 76, returned to Thailand in 2023 after more than fifteen years in self-imposed exile, most of it spent in Dubai. His return was a spectacle: after being sentenced to eight years in prison, his punishment was swiftly commuted to one year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and he was released on parole after spending six months in Bangkok’s Police General Hospital. The circumstances of his hospital stay, however, drew intense scrutiny from the public and the judiciary alike.
According to The Associated Press, the Supreme Court found that Thaksin’s detention in the police hospital did not count as serving prison time. Evidence revealed that his medical condition on the night of his transfer was treatable by the prison hospital, yet he was sent directly to the police hospital without proper assessment by prison doctors—an explicit violation of established procedures. The police hospital’s request for an extension of his stay cited the need for urgent neck surgery, but records showed he only underwent surgeries for a locked finger joint and tendonitis in his right shoulder, none of which were deemed serious. He never underwent the neck surgery that was the basis for his hospital admission.
“Thaksin intervened in the treatment procedures to avoid having to go back to prison, and he falsely claimed having a health condition in order to be sent to the hospital,” the court stated, as reported by Al Jazeera. The judges concluded that Thaksin intentionally prolonged his hospital stay, and that responsibility did not solely lie with the doctors who treated him. As a result, the court ordered that he be sent to Bangkok Remand Prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.
The verdict came after weeks of heightened speculation about Thaksin’s intentions. Just days before the hearing, he made an unexpected trip to Dubai, raising questions about whether he would return to face the court. But on the morning of September 9, he arrived at the Supreme Court in Bangkok, accompanied by his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra—herself a former prime minister who was removed from office just weeks earlier for ethics violations related to a politically compromising phone call. Thaksin, dressed in a suit and yellow tie (a color closely associated with the Thai monarchy), greeted supporters and the press before quietly removing his jacket and entering a prison van following the verdict.
In a message posted to Facebook after the ruling, Thaksin accepted the court’s decision. “I’d like to look into the future, to give conclusions to everything, whether the legal proceedings or the conflicts that were caused by or related to me,” he wrote. “From today, although I’m without freedom, I still have freedom of thought for the benefit of the country and its people.” He added, “Today, I may no longer have freedom, but have freedom of thought to create benefit for the country and people.”
Thaksin’s daughter, Paetongtarn, spoke to reporters after the ruling, expressing gratitude to the king for commuting her father’s original sentence and emphasizing his continued influence in Thai politics. “I’m worried about my father, but I’m also proud that he has created so many historic moments for the country,” she said, according to BBC News. “It’s quite tough, but of course we are still in a good spirit, both my father and our family.” She also vowed to carry the family’s Pheu Thai party forward as an opposition force, signaling that the Shinawatra dynasty’s political ambitions are far from over.
Thaksin’s political journey has been nothing short of tumultuous. Elected prime minister in 2001, he was ousted in a military coup in 2006 while abroad. He returned briefly in 2008 to face charges, only to flee again and begin a lengthy exile. Over the years, he faced a barrage of lawsuits and criminal charges, which he consistently claimed were politically motivated. His supporters—many from Thailand’s rural north and northeast—have long viewed him as a champion of the poor, while his opponents, including powerful royalists and the military, see him as a threat to the established order.
The so-called “14th floor case,” named for the hospital suite where Thaksin stayed, has become a symbol of the broader debate over privilege and justice in Thailand. Many Thais, as noted by BBC News, saw his hospital stay as another example of the rich and powerful receiving special treatment. “People were quite disappointed he spent all that time in police hospital; he didn’t even end up serving a night in jail in the end. I think this will be seen as some kind of justifiable sentence for the crimes that many people feel that he was guilty of during his time in power,” said Tony Cheng, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Bangkok.
Despite the court’s decision, the Shinawatra family’s political influence endures. Over the past 25 years, six premiers from or backed by the Shinawatra family have been removed by either the judiciary or the military. Paetongtarn’s own tenure as prime minister lasted less than a year before her removal for ethical breaches. The Pheu Thai party, long associated with Thaksin and his family, returned to power in 2023, only to be ousted by its former coalition partner, the Bhumjaithai party, just last week. Anutin Charnvirakul, leader of Bhumjaithai, has since assumed the premiership, making him the third prime minister in two years—a testament to the ongoing political volatility in Thailand.
Meanwhile, Thaksin’s legal woes have not entirely subsided. Just last month, he was acquitted of royal defamation charges, a crime known as lese-majeste, which could have carried a 15-year prison sentence. The acquittal provided a rare reprieve in an otherwise relentless series of legal battles.
As Thaksin begins his prison term, the question of whether this marks the end of the Shinawatra era—or simply another chapter in a long-running saga—remains open. His supporters are likely to rally behind his family and party, while his critics may see the court’s decision as long-overdue accountability. For now, one thing is clear: Thailand’s political landscape remains as unpredictable as ever, with the fortunes of its most famous political dynasty once again in flux.
Even as he trades physical freedom for a prison cell, Thaksin Shinawatra’s words and legacy continue to reverberate through Thai society, ensuring his story is far from finished.