Bangkok Remand Prison announced today it would suspend visiting relatives at the prison tomorrow as it plans to tighten up security in the Lat Yao prison area, where it is expected a large crowd may gather if former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is transferred here after returning from his self-imposed exile.
“We kindly request closing visiting privileges at the prison for one day on Tuesday, August 22, 2023,” the prison announced via its Facebook page today. “This is to ensure security in the Lat Yao prison area, where there might be a large crowd.”
This announcement comes after Thaksin, who spent 15 years living in exile, claimed multiple times that he would fly back to Thailand, reaffirming he will land at Don Mueang Airport at 9am tomorrow via private plane. He has said he will turn himself in upon arrival.
“Tomorrow at 9am, I would like to seek your permission to be back in Thailand to live on Thai soil and breathe the same air as my Thai brothers and sisters,” Thaksin wrote in a tweet Monday evening.
พรุ่งนี้9โมงเช้า ผมขออนุญาตกลับไปอาศัยอยู่บนผืนแผ่นดินไทยและร่วมอากาศหายใจกับพี่น้องคนไทยด้วยคนน้ะครับ
— Thaksin Shinawatra (@ThaksinLive) August 21, 2023
His return coincides with the Thai parliament’s voting of the next prime minister, to which Thaksin has denied any connection.
Reports say immigration police will arrest Thaksin after he arrives and take him to Don Mueang Police Station where he will then be transferred to the criminal division of the Supreme Court where Corrections Department will take custody.
Reports say if he arrives within court hours, he will be held at the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Office before taking him to the Bangkok Remand Prison. If he arrives after court hours, he will be taken to the Royal Thai Police Sports Club where he will be detained for one night before he is taken to the Supreme Court the following morning.
According to corrections department chief Aryut Sintopphan, Thaksin will be recorded as an inmate once he is handed over to the Bangkok Remand Prison. He will then be placed under quarantine for 10 days once his records have been taken.
In late July, Thaksin’s daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra wished her father a happy birthday via Instagram and put a date on his flight home: August 10. That did not happen, and he ensured the people of Thailand that there would be no more delays and he would really fly back home on August 22, a day after his daughter Paetongtarn’s birthday.
Thaksin, who was ousted by the military in 2006 and convicted in absentia two years later for abusing power and malfeasance, made waves in May prior to the elections by declaring he would return in July.
Prior to the elections, the fugitive founder of what today is Pheu Thai Party, congratulated newly elected lawmakers and the Move Forward Party for outperforming his team and sought to dismiss fears he would broker a secret deal to form a competing government.
