Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Thailand Prime Minster has been sentenced to eight years imprisonment shortly after returning home from a 15 years exile.
The 74-year-old arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday morning in a private jet, ahead of their forthcoming election to elect a new Thai leader.
Shinawatra was welcomed by hundreds of supporters who had gathered overnight at Bangkok’s Don Muang airport before he was taken by police to the Supreme Court, which ordered him to serve an eight-year prison sentence based on previous convictions on corruption charges.
According to BBC, Mr Thaksin, is Thailand’s most successful elected leader, has long been feared by conservative royalists, who have backed military coups and contentious court cases to weaken him.
Years after being overthrown by a military coup, the flamboyant, politically ambitious telecoms tycoon is back.
His daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra shared pictures on social media of her father posing with his three children and seven grandchildren after his arrival, accompanied by a message that her father has returned “and has entered the legal process.”
Peison authorities said he will be kept in a wing with specific medical equipment, given his advanced age. He will also immediately undergo a 10-day quarantine – the first five days of which he will be confined to his room.”
