BANGKOK, Thailand – A former Thai lawmaker has petitioned the country’s Supreme Court to bar former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra from traveling abroad, ahead of a key court ruling on the enforcement of his one-year prison sentence.
The request was filed on Friday by Charnchai Issarasenarak, a former Member of Parliament for the Democrat Party. The court has scheduled a hearing on his petition for September 8.
The Sept. 9 ruling will address whether Thaksin’s one-year sentence, which he served outside of prison in a hospital, was properly enforced. The former prime minister returned to Thailand in 2023 after 15 years in self-exile and was paroled after six months, having spent his time in a police hospital due to reported health issues.
While acknowledging that Thaksin is legally permitted to travel abroad—as a separate royal defamation case was dismissed and no travel ban is in place—Charnchai said he was acting as a Thai citizen to ensure the legal process is not undermined. (TNA)
