Ex-Prime Minister of Thailand who returned from exile was sent to prison from a plane

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was escorted to jail shortly after flying to Bangkok from Singapore in a private jet, ending more than 15 years in exile.

Crowds of cheering supporters, many dressed in red and carrying welcome placards, gathered at Bangkok airport to greet Thaksin, 74, the billionaire politician who has dominated Thai politics for more than two decades, according to The Guardian.

Thaksin arrived with his three children and waved to reporters after his plane landed at Don Mueang Airport on Tuesday morning, with local media broadcasting the event live. He was greeted by crowds of supporters who watched from behind the airport fence and shouted “We love Thaksin.” One of the supporters, hearing the news of his arrival, said: “Our dream has come true.” Leaving, Thaksin laid a flower wreath and prostrated himself in front of a portrait of the King and Queen of Thailand at the exit of the terminal.

According to a statement by the Supreme Court, the ex-premier will serve eight years in prison. However, many commentators have suggested that his arrival in the country coincides with his party’s likely return to power, and that he will not have to serve his full sentence. As the Associated Press notes, Thaksin could end up serving a prison sentence if he doesn’t receive a royal pardon. Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-Ngam of the outgoing military-linked government said Thaksin was entitled to ask for clemency and could receive special treatment because of his age.

Thaksin has often expressed his desire to return and posted on social media on Monday that he was asking for permission to “return to live on the land of Thailand and breathe the same air” as his Thai brothers and sisters.

After his arrival on Tuesday, he was taken to the Supreme Court for a hearing and then transferred to the Klongprem Central Prison in the capital. His youngest daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, posted on social media that the politician was safe and had “joined the lawsuit.”

Thaksin was overthrown in a military coup in 2006 and has lived in exile to avoid legal charges he says are politically motivated, including a conviction in absentia for corruption.

He previously set dates for his return only to be delayed, but on Tuesday his sister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was deposed in 2014 and is also in exile, posted pictures of Thaksin on the plane online, writing: “The day I’ve been taking so long waited, it has come.

His arrival comes just hours before a crucial parliamentary vote to decide whether Stretta Tawisin, a candidate nominated by the Thaksin-affiliated Pheu Tai party, can take over as prime minister. If Stretta succeeds, it could end the three-month political stalemate.

Pheu Tai has formed a controversial coalition with its longtime adversaries, the parties allied with the military, saying it was necessary in order to garner enough support from Stretta to become prime minister.

The event has divided Thaksin’s supporters, angering many who say the party has abandoned its democratic principles. Others, however, remain overjoyed that Thaksin may return to the country.

By Monday evening, supporters had already begun to gather at the airport, dressed in red and displaying banners reading “Welcome to the People’s Prime Minister” and “Prime Minister Thaksin, a Prime Minister who will forever be in people’s hearts.”

Thaksin, a former police officer turned telecom magnate before entering politics, first came to power in 2001 and has gone on to build a loyal voter base in the rural north and northeast. His policies, such as the universal health care system and the village funds program to stimulate rural economic activity, brought concrete changes to people’s lives, and for many years he was undefeated at the ballot box.

However, Thaksin was strongly opposed by the military-royalist establishment, which considered him corrupt and accused him of exploiting the country in his own interests and in an effort to push the monarchy into the background.

Infighting between the two sides has twice led to a military takeover in a coup d’état, while political parties associated with Thaksin have repeatedly disbanded and prolonged street protests have paralyzed the capital, Bangkok. More than 90 people died in 2010 as a result of the brutal repression of Thaksin’s supporters by the army.

For many of its supporters, it is unthinkable that the Pheu Tai party can now team up with military-linked rivals.

“What were we fighting for?” said one of Thaksin’s supporters, who protested on his behalf. He claims that by joining the military, Pheu Tai is undermining the ideology and values ​​that the party’s supporters believed in.

Dr. Panchada Sirivunnabud, assistant professor of politics at Mahidol University, said the political deal was unprecedented given the ideological divide between the two sides and will doom Pheu Tai in the next election.

Key Pheu Tai figures pledged during the campaign that they would not make deals with military generals to take power. Now they say they must do this in order to garner enough support for their candidate to take office.

Under the rules of the election, which were rewritten after the 2014 military coup, Stretta must win the support of a majority in both the lower house of 500 elected deputies and 250 senators who were not elected and appointed by the military to become prime minister.

The military-focused Senate had previously prevented Pita Limjaroenrath, leader of the Forward reformist movement, from becoming prime minister, allowing the Pheu Tai party, which came second in the election, to try to reform the government.

Thaksin said his decision to return to his homeland had nothing to do with an expected parliamentary vote later that day on the Pheu Tai party’s candidate for prime minister. But many believe that his arrival is connected precisely with the party’s desire for power.