BANGKOK: Thailand’s controversial former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been granted a royal pardon, his lawyer said Saturday, a day after his daughter became the kingdom’s new premier.
The 75-year-old billionaire is one of thousands granted amnesty by King Maha Vajiralongkorn in a gesture of clemency to mark his birthday.
Thaksin was jailed for eight years on graft and abuse of power charges dating back to his time in power when he returned to the kingdom almost a year ago after 15 years of self-exile.
But his sentence was cut to one year by the king and he was later released on parole because of his age and poor health.
The amnesty was announced in the official Royal Gazette, and Thaksin’s lawyer Winyat Chatmontree said that the two-time premier benefitted.
“Thaksin Shinawatra is among those granted the royal pardon,” he said on his personal Facebook account.
“He will later receive a document from the prison saying he is a free man.”
The Royal Gazette published on Saturday said that “the king had given opportunities for those to improve themselves and benefit their country.”
The pardon for prisoners with good conduct came almost a month after King Vajiralongkorn celebrated his 72th birthday in late July.
The ex-PM was originally set to complete his one-year parole on August 31.
Lawmakers approved on Friday Thaksin’s daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra as premier.
At 37, she is the kingdom’s youngest prime minister and the third Shinawatra to hold the job after her father and aunt Yingluck — both of whom were ousted in military coups.
Paetongtarn’s elevation to the top job came about after the kingdom’s Constitutional Court sacked previous premier Srettha Thavisin for appointing a cabinet minister with a criminal conviction.
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Thai king pardons ex-PM Thaksin in birthday amnesty
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Thai king pardons ex-PM Thaksin in birthday amnesty
- Thaksin was jailed for eight years on graft and abuse of power charges dating back to his time in power when he returned to the kingdom almost a year ago after 15 years of self-exile
Over 3,000 migrants died in 2025 trying to reach Spain: aid group
- More than 3,000 migrants died while trying to reach Spain this year, a report released by a Spanish migration rights group said on Monday
MADRID: More than 3,000 migrants died while trying to reach Spain this year, a report released by a Spanish migration rights group said on Monday, a sharp decline from 2024 as the number of attempted crossings fell.
Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) said most of the 3,090 deaths recorded until December 15 took place on the Atlantic migration route from Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands, considered one of the world’s most dangerous.
While there has been a “significant” decrease in migrant arrivals in the Canaries, “a new, more distant and more dangerous” route to the archipelago has emerged with departures from Guinea, it said.
The group compiles its figures from families of migrants and official statistics of those rescued. It included 437 children and 192 women among the dead.
Caminando Fronteras also noted there had been a rise in the number of boats leaving from Algeria, mainly to the holiday islands of Ibiza and Formentera in the Mediterranean.
Traditionally used by Algerians, the route is seeing a surge of migrants from Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan in 2025, the group said.
The number of deaths on this route had doubled this year to 1,037 when compared to 2024, it added.
At least 10,457 migrants died or disappeared while trying to reach Spain by sea in 2024, according to Caminando Fronteras, the highest number recorded since it began tracking data in 2007.
Spain’s interior ministry says 35,935 migrants reached Spain until December 15 this year, a 40-percent decrease from the same period last year.
Nearly half of them came through the Atlantic migration route from the coast of West Africa to the Canary Islands.
Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) said most of the 3,090 deaths recorded until December 15 took place on the Atlantic migration route from Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands, considered one of the world’s most dangerous.
While there has been a “significant” decrease in migrant arrivals in the Canaries, “a new, more distant and more dangerous” route to the archipelago has emerged with departures from Guinea, it said.
The group compiles its figures from families of migrants and official statistics of those rescued. It included 437 children and 192 women among the dead.
Caminando Fronteras also noted there had been a rise in the number of boats leaving from Algeria, mainly to the holiday islands of Ibiza and Formentera in the Mediterranean.
Traditionally used by Algerians, the route is seeing a surge of migrants from Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan in 2025, the group said.
The number of deaths on this route had doubled this year to 1,037 when compared to 2024, it added.
At least 10,457 migrants died or disappeared while trying to reach Spain by sea in 2024, according to Caminando Fronteras, the highest number recorded since it began tracking data in 2007.
Spain’s interior ministry says 35,935 migrants reached Spain until December 15 this year, a 40-percent decrease from the same period last year.
Nearly half of them came through the Atlantic migration route from the coast of West Africa to the Canary Islands.
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