Thai Prime Minister (PM) Srettha Thavisin said that “all political fugitives, including former PM Yingluck Shinawatra, are welcome to return to Thailand.” However, the PM also said that they must undergo the judicial process if they do return to the country.
Srettha made the comments that echoed the comments made by former PM Thaksin Shinawatra when he said he “expected to celebrate Songkran [the Thai New Year] with his younger sister next year” on April 14th.
However, the PM said that neither Thaksin nor Yingluck informed him or the Thai government that Yingluck was planning to return. Yingluck is expected to follow in the matter in which Thaksin, since the Thai court cleared her of two cases and now only faces one case.
Thaksin began to serve his eight-year sentence when he returned to Thailand last year but was sent to the Royal Thai Police Hospital on his first night, and the king commuted his sentence by royal clemency to one year and was paroled due to time served.
The Thai PM said he was not worried about potential protests due to Yingluck’s occurring since she would have to go through the judicial process like other political figures.
