Thailand's former PM Thaksin Shinawatra starts 1-year prison term for previous convictions

BANGKOK (AP) — Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was taken to Bangkok’s Klong Prem Central Prison on Tuesday after the Supreme Court said he must serve a one-year prison term for previous convictions related to graft and abuse of power charges.

The court's decision came after a hearing to decide whether officials had mishandled his return to Thailand in 2023 to begin serving the sentences.

A judge said that the enforcement of Thaksin’s penalty was not done properly, and therefore his detention in a police hospital did not count as serving prison time.

Following his return to Thailand after more than a decade of living in self-exile, Thaksin was sent to a suite at Bangkok’s Police General Hospital in the middle of the night, reportedly for medical reasons, after spending less than a day in prison. His eight-year sentence was then commuted to one year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and he was released on parole after six months in the hospital.

The circumstances raised questions about whether he received special treatment and many were suspicious whether he was genuinely ill.

The court's statement Tuesday said evidence showed that Thaksin's condition on that night was treatable by the prison's hospital, but that he was instead sent directly to the police hospital without first being assessed by prison doctors, which was a violation of procedures.

It said that the police hospital's request for an extension of his stay claimed that Thaksin needed urgent neck surgery, but a record showed that he received surgeries for a locked finger joint and tendonitis in his right shoulder, which were not serious conditions and not what originally sent him to the hospital. The court added Thaksin did not end up having neck surgery before his release.

It also said that Thaksin was believed to have intervened in the treatment procedures to avoid having to go back to the prison, and that he falsely claimed having a health condition in order to be sent to the hospital.

After Tuesday's court hearing, Thaksin was sent to the Bangkok Remand Prison. The Department of Corrections said in a statement late Tuesday that he was processed and then moved to the nearby Klong Prem Central Prison, which detains prisoners who have received final convictions. He was filmed being taken into a prison van while wearing a blue prisoner uniform.

A message on his Facebook page, shared by his team shortly after the ruling, said that he accepted the court’s decision.

“I’d like to look into the future, to give conclusions to everything, whether the legal proceedings or the conflicts that were caused by or related to me,” read the post. “From today, although I’m without freedom, I still have freedom of thought for the benefit of the country and its people.”

Before the ruling, Thaksin arrived at the court with his family, including two of his children, Pintongta Shinawatra, and former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was removed from her position last month after a court found her guilty of an ethics violation for a politically compromising phone call with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen.

Paetongtarn spoke to reporters after the ruling, thanking the king for commuting Thaksin's sentence. She said Thaksin would remain a spiritual leader in Thai politics and that he always thinks about working for the good of the country and Thai people.

“I'm worried about my father, but I'm also proud that he has created so many historic moments for the country,” she said. “It's quite tough, but of course we are still in a good spirit, both my father and our family.”

Thaksin was prime minister from 2001 until a military coup ousted him in 2006 while he was abroad.

His ouster triggered nearly two decades of deep political polarization, pitting his supporters against opponents including better-off urban dwellers, ardent royalists and the military. He briefly returned in 2008 to face charges but skipped bail and fled abroad again, commencing a self-imposed exile lasting over a decade.

After leaving office, he faced a barrage of lawsuits and criminal charges he claimed were politically motivated.

Last month, a criminal court acquitted him of royal defamation, an offense also known as lese-majeste, which could have resulted in a 15-year prison sentence.

A supporter of Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra wears a hat with his image on, outside the Supreme Court in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra leaves the Supreme Court in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, second from left, leaves the Supreme Court for Bangkok Remand Prison in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Panumas Sanguanwong)

Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, partly seen at left, leaves the Supreme Court for Bangkok Remand Prison in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, (AP Photo/Sakchai Lallit)

Former Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrives at Supreme Court in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, (AP Photo/Wason Wanitchakorn)

Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrives at the Supreme Court in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanitchakorn)

Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, center, and his daughter and former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, right, arrive at Supreme Court in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, center, and his daughter and former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, right, arrive at Supreme Court in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

CORRECTS NAME OF DAUGHTER - Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, center right, and his daughter and former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, center left, arrive at Supreme Court in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025.(AP Photo/Wason Wanitchakorn)

Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrives at Supreme Court in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanitchakorn)

CORRECTS NAME OF DAUGHTER - Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, center, and his daughter and former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, right, arrive at Supreme Court in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

CORRECTS NAME OF DAUGHTER - Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, left, and his daughter and former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, right, arrive at Supreme Court in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

PROVO, Utah (AP) — The Utah man charged with killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk returned to court Friday, as his attorneys sought to disqualify prosecutors because the daughter of a deputy county attorney involved in the case attended the rally where Kirk was shot.

Defense attorneys say the relationship represents a conflict of interest after prosecutors said they intend to seek the death penalty for Tyler Robinson.

Robinson, 22, is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 shooting of Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, just a few miles north of the Provo courthouse. He has not yet entered a plea.

The director of a state council that trains prosecutors said he doubted the disqualification attempt would succeed, and he was unaware of any major case where attorneys had been disqualified for bias.

“I would bet against the defense winning this motion,” Utah Prosecution Council Director Robert Church told The Associated Press. “They’ve got to a show a substantial amount of prejudice and bias.”

The prosecutor’s 18-year-old daughter, who attended the event where Kirk was shot, later texted her father in the Utah County Attorney’s Office to describe the chaotic aftermath, according to court filings and testimony. She did not see the shooting but heard a loud pop, according to an affidavit submitted by prosecutors.

Robinson's attorneys say the close connection between the prosecution team and a person present for Kirk's killing “raises serious concerns about past and future prosecutorial decision-making,” according to court documents. They also argue that the “rush” to seek the death penalty is evidence of “strong emotional reactions” by the prosecution and merits disqualification of the entire team.

Defense attorney Richard Novak urged Judge Tony Graf on Friday to bring in the state attorney general’s office in place of Utah County prosecutors to address the alleged conflict of interest. Novak said it was problematic for county prosecutors to litigate on behalf of the state while defending their aptness to stay on the case.

Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray argued that Novak’s last-minute request was aimed at delaying the case against Robinson. His office has asked Graf to deny the disqualification request.

“This is ambush and another stalling tactic,” Gray said.

Several thousand people attended the outdoor rally where Kirk, a co-founder of Turning Point USA who helped mobilize young people to vote for President Donald Trump, was shot as he took audience questions.

The prosecutor's daughter, a student at Utah Valley University, texted a family group chat that day saying, “CHARLIE GOT SHOT.” Gray testified Friday that he was with his colleague when he received that text, and the colleague showed it to him.

In the weeks after the shooting, the young woman did not miss classes and reported no lasting trauma “aside from being scared at the time,” the affidavit said.

Gray emphasized that she was “neither a material witness nor a victim in the case” and that “nearly everything” she knows about Kirk's killing is mere hearsay.

“There is virtually no risk, let alone a significant risk, that it would arouse such emotions in any father-prosecutor as to render him unable to fairly prosecute the case,” he said in a court filing.

The deputy county attorney and his daughter are expected to testify Feb. 3.

If Utah County prosecutors were disqualified, the case would likely shift to prosecutors in a county with enough resources to handle a big case, such as Salt Lake City, or possibly the state attorney general’s office, said Church, the prosecution council director. Graf would have the final say, he said.

Friday's hearing was briefly interrupted when the defense raised concerns that close-up shots of Robinson livestreamed by a local television station could be analyzed by lip readers to see what he was discussing with his attorneys. That prompted Graf to order the camera operator not to film Robinson for the remainder of the hearing.

Prosecutors have said DNA evidence connects Robinson to the killing. Robinson also reportedly texted his romantic partner that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”

At the school where the shooting took place, university president Astrid Tuminez announced Wednesday that she will be stepping down from her role after the semester ends in May.

The state university has been working to expand its police force and add security managers after it was criticized for a lack of key safety measures on the day of the shooting.

Prosecutors are expected to lay out their case against Robinson at a preliminary hearing scheduled to begin May 18.

This story has been updated to correct the name of Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray.

Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf presides over a hearing for Tyler Robinson in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray addresses the court during a hearing for Tyler Robinson in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, sits beside defense attorney Kathryn Nester during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, sits beside defense attorney Kathryn Nester during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

FILE - A U.S. flag hangs at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Sept. 17, 2025, over the site where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed. (AP Photo/Jesse Bedayn, File)

FILE - Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, Dec. 11, 2025. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool, File)