BANGKOK: Thailand’s billionaire former premier Thaksin Shinawatra was released from jail on parole and met by cheering crowds on Monday, eight months after a court ordered him to do the prison time he tried to dodge with a prolonged stay in hospital.

The 76-year-old tycoon remade and dominated Thai politics for a quarter-century, but his influence has waned of late following his jailing and his once formidable Pheu Thai Party’s worst election performance on record earlier this year.

As he exited Bangkok’s Klong Prem prison with hair closely cropped and wearing a loose white shirt, a smiling Thaksin hugged family members, including daughter and protégé, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who a court sacked as prime minister last August, 10 days before his incarceration.

Hundreds of supporters, many wearing his party’s signature red colour, who had gathered to greet him on his release chanted: “We love Thaksin”. Asked by a reporter how he felt, Thaksin raised his hands above his head and said he was “relieved”. “I went to hibernate. I can’t remember anything now,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2026