Hundreds of people, including the 76-year-old billionaire’s family and political allies, greeted him on Monday, chanting, “We love Thakisn” as he left the Klong Prem Central Prison.
Thaksin remade and dominated Thai politics for a quarter-century, but his influence has waned of late following his jailing and his once formidable Pheu Thai Party’s worst election performance on record earlier this year.
His hair closely cropped and in a simple white shirt, Thaksin walked out of prison at about 7:40am local time (00:40 GMT) and was immediately surrounded by family members, including his daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was sacked as prime minister by a court order in August last year, weeks before his imprisonment.
He smiled brightly as he walked around to greet his supporters, but left without speaking to reporters.
Thaksin had served as prime minister from 2001 until a military coup toppled him in 2006, while he was abroad.
After 15 years in self-exile, he returned to Thailand in 2023 to face an eight-year sentence for conflicts of interest and abuse of power relating to his time in office. That sentence had been commuted to one year by the king.
But he was in prison for only a few hours following his homecoming before complaining of heart trouble and chest pains. He then spent six months in the VIP wing of a hospital until he was freed on parole.
