Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra sentenced to eight years in prison after shocked return from exile

Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted from power in a 2006 military coup. Credit: Valeria Mongelli/Bloomberg

Thaksin Shinawatra, ex-Thai Prime Minister-in-exile The minister and former owner of Manchester City Football Club was jailed on Tuesday after making an unexpected return to Bangkok hours before a party associated with him won power in a disputed vote.

Despite his long absence, Thaksin, a former police and telecommunications magnate ousted from power in a 2006 military coup, remains one of the country's most influential and divisive politicians.

His hundreds of supporters have come a long way to be in Bangkok's Don district. Muang Airport as his private jet landed welcoming him with banners and songs as he briefly exited the terminal.

Despite being hated by the conservative elite, Thaksin has a loyal base of support in rural Thailand.

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“Thank you all for the warmth you gave my father today,” his youngest daughter, Patongtarn Shinawatra, herself a politician, wrote on Instagram.

But the 74-year-old man was quickly taken to the Supreme Court, where he was sentenced to eight years in prison for three convictions in his absence, which he claims were politically motivated.

The timing of his return is 'not coincidental'

However, the timing of his return has raised speculation that he may stay in prison for a short time.

On Tuesday afternoon, Parliament finally elected a new prime minister, ending three months of deadlock and backroom talks following national elections in May.

Sretta Tavisin, a 61-year-old real estate tycoon and political newcomer, will lead coalition of 11 parties once unthinkable, created by Pheu Thai, a populist party linked to Thaskin.

Stretta Tavisin at a Pheu Thai press conference after the Thai parliament voted for his candidacy for prime minister. Photo: AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn. May, but was prevented from leading the coalition by unelected pro-royalist senators.

Instead, Pheu Thai, the second largest party in the lower house, joined forces with groups, including two parties linked to the military, who overthrew Thaksin in a coup d'état in 2006 and his sister Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014.

Many commentators speculate that Pheu Thai negotiated with the establishment to reduce or lift Thaksin's prison sentence, which the party denies.

«The timing is probably not random at all,» Peter Mumford, head of the Eurasia Group at The Telegraph, told The Telegraph. South-East Asia. «Despite Thaksin's desperate desire to return to Thailand, he is at great risk of being stuck in prison upon returning and would likely do so only if he felt there was a good chance of favorable treatment.»

He added that Thaksin's return would be «mixed with discussions between Pheu Thai and junta supporters — each other's former enemies — about forming a government together.»

Tithinan Pongsudhirak, director of Chulalongkorn University's Institute for Security and International Studies, also said Nikkei Asia that there would be no «reconciliation» between the military and Pheu Thai without resolving the «Thaksin factor».

Pheu Thai supporters are divided

Even in his absence, Thaksin had a great influence on Thai politics: parties associated with him won every election from 2001 until the shocking victory of Move Forward. Although he is unpopular with the elite, who see him as corrupt and a threat to public order, he is respected by poor Thais due to policies that include cheaper health care and minimum wages.

Supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra gathered outside Thailand's Supreme Court in Bangkok as he was charged on Tuesday. Credit: Lilian SUWANRUMPHA/AFP

The new Pheu Thai coalition has divided supporters with its former enemies, many of whom have taken part in lengthy and sometimes deadly protests against the military since Thaksin and his sister were ousted from power. Others wonder if the country really voted for this when it overwhelmingly supported pro-democracy parties in May.

But ahead of the vote, Stretta insisted the partnership was critical to breaking the three-month stalemate and enacting Pheu Thai policies, including a promise to pay everyone aged 16 and over £10,000 (£225) to stimulate the economy and raise the minimum wage. fees by 70 percent.

«It's hard to trust Pheu Thai when their position is so flexible, when they can get 'mutual benefits' with the previous government,» Bhavanta Rajabhandarak Punnopatam, a teacher from Bangkok, told the Telegraph.

Panic Vannich, a former MP for Future Forward — the predecessor of the upstaged Move Forward — said at a recent event that the partnership heralds a «new era of polarization» in the country's troubled politics.