Inside the Bangkok prison where ex-PM Thaksin is jailed
Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, 76, has been transferred to Bangkok’s Klong Prem central prison following a Supreme Court ruling ordering him to serve one year behind bars. The court determined that Thaksin had improperly spent time in a hospital instead of prison.
Once among Thailand’s wealthiest and most powerful figures, Thaksin had initially been sentenced to eight years for conflicts of interest and abuse of power during his 2001–2006 premiership. His sentence was reduced to one year after returning from self-exile in August 2023. Since his release on parole in February 2024, he had lived in a high-fenced Bangkok mansion and traveled in luxury vehicles and private jets, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Klong Prem, a maximum-security facility housing around 6,500 inmates, has held high-profile figures including political leaders, media moguls, and international arms dealer Viktor Bout. Former inmate and activist Somyot Pruksakasemsuk described the prison as “a very depressing life” and “not a friendly place,” recalling tense conditions and the emotional toll of incarceration.
Thaksin is currently in a five-day quarantine within the prison, unable to meet or communicate directly with his lawyer. The facility is divided into 11 zones, including quarantine, long- and short-term sentence areas, and sections for high-risk inmates. According to a former Corrections Department official, Thaksin is likely grouped with elderly political prisoners rather than violent criminals. Regardless of age, “all inmates sleep on the floor next to each other,” the official noted.
The Corrections Department has not commented on Thaksin’s daily life or exact location within Klong Prem.
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