Ex-Thai PM Thaksin Leaves Jail to Calls for Return to Politics

Thaksin Shinawatra embraces his family in Bangkok on May 11.Photographer: Dario Pignatelli/Bloomberg

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By Patpicha Tanakasempipat

May 10, 2026 at 10:00 PM UTC

Updated on

May 11, 2026 at 3:07 AM UTC

Former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra walked out of a Bangkok prison Monday, welcomed by the cheers from loyal supporters but as a diminished figure in Thai politics he and his family once dominated.

“I was in hibernation,” Thaksin told reporters after arriving home in a black Mercedes. He added he is “relieved” to be out of prison.