Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was imprisoned last year immediately after he returned from a 15-year self-imposed exile, was released on parole on Sunday, local time, Feb. 18.
Thaksin's lawyer, Winyat Chartmontri, told Reuters that his client completed parole proceedings and had formally been released.
The 74-year-old former prime minister was seen leaving the hospital in a black Mercedes van early Sunday, wearing a green shirt and with his arm in a sling, sitting beside his youngest daughter, Paetongtarn, who currently leads the ruling Pheu Thai Party.
"Thaksin has arrived home, hope he will have good health," she wrote in an Instagram post, showing an image of her in the vehicle with her father.
Thaksin Seeks Retirement
Thaksin, an influential billionaire toppled from power by a royalist military coup in 2006, was freed from the hospital detention six months into a sentence for abuse of power and conflicts of interest, which was commuted from eight years to a single one by the country's monarch, King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Previously, it was reported that Thaksin was eligible for parole due to his age, health condition, and time served, and had been detained in the hospital for health reasons.
He insists that he has retired from politics.
