Bangkok

Former Thailand prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned to his country on Tuesday (August 22) after 15 years in self-imposed exile. Shinawatra was swiftly arrested, taken to court and jailed after he landed back home at the Don Mueang Airport. His party is in talks with the military-backed legislators in order to name a prime minister to end the deadlock persisting weeks after the election. And his return and arrest are seen by observers as part of a possible deal to end his ouster and eventual return to political mainstream.

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After returning to his motherland, Thaksin paid his respects to the king on his arrival and immediately was taken in a police convoy to the Supreme Court where he was charged with abuse of power and several other outstanding criminal offences. Shinawatra denied all such allegations and said they were politically motivated.

“Welcome back to Thailand daddy,” his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra posted on Instagram beneath a photograph of the family, adding that he had “entered the legal process”.

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Prison authorities say he will be kept in a wing with specific medical equipment, given his advanced age.

He will also immediately undergo a 10-day quarantine - the first five days of which he will be confined to his room, authorities said.

Thaksin Shinawatra: Former policeman, successful businessman to self-exiled Thai PM 

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Shinawatra has been one of the most influential characters in Thai politics. 

Born in 1949 in the northern city of Chiang Mai, Thaksin started his career as a police officer. In 1973, he received a government scholarship to study for a master’s degree in criminal justice in the United States.

When he returned, he went into business, and during the late 1980s began building a successful telecommunications empire.

He founded the Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party in 1998, and its rapid emergence transformed the country's politics. Thaksin swept into office in 2001, soundly defeating the Democrat Party.

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He became the first Thai PM to lead an elected government through a full term in office. As the prime minister, he was enormously popular among the rural poor but was deeply unpopular among many of Bangkok’s rich elite.

He had to face the fallout from his government's suppression of news of an outbreak of bird flu, as well as criticism over the violent deaths of more than 2,500 people during a crackdown on drugs in 2003.

After more than five years in power, he was ousted in a military coup in September 2006, accused of corruption and abuse of power. Thaksin has been in self-imposed exile since, mostly in London or Dubai.

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In the 17 years since being unseated in the 2006 military coup, his country has seen 10 prime ministers. But Thaksin has remained very much at the heart of Thailand's political dramas.

In May 2023, as Move Forward party Pita Limjaroenrat’s bid to become PM was ended, it paved the way for Thaksin’s return as Pheu Thai brokered a power-sharing deal with two military-linked parties. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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