Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been sent to jail, ordered by a court, Tuesday, to serve a one-year sentence for previous convictions on charges of graft and abuse of power.

Just after midday, Associated Press journalists saw a vehicle carry him past the gate and into Bangkok Remand Prison.

AP journalist Jerry Harmer explains what he saw at the scene.

At its simplest it’s the result of the court investigating whether he received unduly lenient treatment two years ago when he returned to Thailand after 15 years of self-exile.

On that occasion he was taken to court, sentenced to eight years, and sent to prison but within hours he was whisked to hospital, allegedly seriously ill. And there he stayed, in a private room, until the king commuted his sentence and he was paroled in February 2024.

Many Thais were suspicious of the circumstances and, in essence, today the Supreme Court agreed with them.

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

Before the start of the hearing the former leader arrived at the court looking calm and composed. His daughter Paetongtarn – herself prime minister until recently – was at his side.

A message on his Facebook page following the ruling, said that he accepted the court’s decision.

Thaksin Shinawatra won two landslide general election victories at the start of the century before being overthrown in a military coup in 2006.

AP video shot by Jerry Harmer