The justice minister says Thaksin was one of 930 inmates paroled on Tuesday and is expected to be released after February 17.
Jailed former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be released, according to local media reports.
Thaksin, 74, who was jailed for eight years for abuse of power before a royal pardon reduced the sentence to one year, was granted freedom based on his age and health, Thai media reported on Tuesday, citing the minister. of Justice, Tawee Sodsong.
The politician and business magnate was taken to hospital after a single night in prison due to his high blood pressure and has remained there ever since.
He was among 930 inmates paroled on Tuesday, Tawee told reporters, and is expected to be released after Feb. 17.
Thailand returned to Thailand last August after more than 14 years of exile.
Thaksin came to power in 2001 on a populist platform that appealed to rural Thais who had long been neglected by the country's ruling elites. He returned in a landslide five years later, but, in September 2006, when Thaksin was in New York preparing to address the United Nations, the military seized power in a coup.
Thaksin – who was also accused of serious human rights abuses amid violent conflict in the predominantly Muslim southern provinces and a “war on drugs” that left thousands dead – was later found guilty of abuse of power and went into exile, mainly in Dubai.
