Former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, now living in exile, was acquitted on Monday by a Thai court on charges related to the mishandling of expenditures for a government project in 2013. This marks another legal win for the powerful Shinawatra family, including Yingluck's brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was recently released on parole for corruption-related offenses. Thaksin, after over a decade of self-imposed exile, returned home last year and was granted clemency due to his age and ill health, following a six-month hospital detention.
Yingluck, who served as prime minister from 2011 until her ousting in 2014, has been cleared of abuse of power charges in connection to a personnel transfer she oversaw. However, to return to Thailand without facing prison, she would require a pardon from King Maha Vajiralongkorn or another form of clemency. In 2017, she was sentenced in absentia for alleged negligence in a rice subsidy program, a case her supporters view as politically motivated to weaken Thaksin's political influence.
Thaksin, a former premier ousted in a 2006 military coup, has seen his family's political party, Pheu Thai, remain influential. Last year, the party came close in elections but faced a strong challenge from the more progressive Move Forward party. Despite Thaksin's release, he still faces legal risks, including a nine-year-old royal defamation charge that could lead to a lengthy prison term if he is convicted. His supporters see these legal battles as part of a broader effort by Thailand's conservative elite to maintain power against populist challenges.
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