Former Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned to the nation after 15 years in self-exile. After landing in the Don Mueang airport on Tuesday morning, he made a brief appearance in front of the supporters and media persons.
Along with thousands of supporters, key political figures from the Pheu Thai Party were awaiting to welcome him outside the private jet terminal at the airport in Bangkok, the Bangkok Post said in a report.
Donning a dark blue suit and pink necktie, Shinawatra, 74, walked out of the private jet terminal with his three children. The former prime minister paused for a brief moment and paid his respects to King Maha Vajiralongkorn in front of his portrait.
Thaksin Shinawatra then put his hands together in a wai (a Thai form of greeting very similar to namaste) and greeted his supporters.
Thaksin has been living in a self-imposed exile after being overthrown by a military coup in September 2006. The Bangkok Post said that Thaksin will be taken to the Thailand Supreme Court near Grand Palace to undergo procedures concerning his punishment.
He is likely to be put in detention.
Thaksin Shinawatra was convicted in four criminal cases in his absence, although the statute of limitations has expired in one. The jail sentences against him total 10 years, according to news agency AFP.
Thaksin was found guilty of abuse of authority in a land purchase case where he bought a state-owned land in Ratchadaphisek at a price below the market value through his then wife Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra. However, the 10-year statute of limitations on the court ruling ended in October 2018.
Thaksin also faces a two-year prison sentence for wrongdoing in connection with the two- and three-digit lottery case. The third case led to a three-year prison sentence for abusing his authority and issuing 4 billion baht in loans to Myanmar using the Export-Import (Exim) Bank of Thailand.
The money allotted was used to purchase equipment telecoms giant Shin Corp which was owned by him.
The fourth case led to a five-year prison sentence for him as a Thailand court found him guilty of owning shares in Shin Corp through nominees which is a violation of the rules for individuals holding public office.
The statute of limitations for the court decisions on second, third and fourth cases are yet to expire.
However, Thaksin Shinawatra’s supporters were more than happy to see him return. “Nobody had ever stood up to a coup. Everyone (else) who was overthrown in a coup faded out and got out of politics. The guy is a fighter,” an associate of the former owner of English Premier League club Manchester City told news agency AFP.
“I am a real Red Shirt — whenever they want our support, I will always be there for them. I don’t only like him but I love him,” Karuna Wantang, 70, a retired bureaucrat from Nongkai, in the country’s northeast, told AFP.