Case centred on claims that he had not properly served a sentence for corruption and abuse of power, which was handed down in 2023

Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra must serve one year in jail, the country’s supreme court has ruled, in a major blow to one of the country’s most prominent and polarising politicians.

The court ruled that Thaksin had not properly served an eight-year sentence for corruption and abuse of power, which was handed down when he returned to the country from self-imposed exile in 2023. After arriving back in the country, Thaksin spent less than 24 hours in jail, but was moved to the VIP wing of a hospital on health grounds, where he stayed for six months before he was released on parole.

In its judgment, the supreme court found that the arrangement allowing Thaksin to stay at hospital was unlawful. “The defendant knows his sickness was not an urgent matter, and staying in hospital cannot count as a prison term,” said the ruling read out by a judge.

“The court will issue a jail warrant and an official from Bangkok Remand Prison will take him,” the judge said.