Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has lost his latest appeal for a further Royal commutation of his one-year jail term.
In his confidential and formal letter of September 23rd, addressed to Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, then Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong said he had rejected Thaksin’s application, which was subsequently returned to the Office of the Secretary-General of the Cabinet.
Justice Minister Rutthapon Naowarat said today that he has assigned Pongsawat Neelayothin, the justice permanent secretary, to form a panel to study the legal aspects and to report back to him next Monday.
Thaksin’s second plea for Royal clemency raised objections from some law professors, pertaining to its propriety and legality.
Kaewsan Atibodhi, a former law professor at Thammasat University, said that Thaksin could not seek a second Royal intervention, because his original eight-year sentence had already been commuted to one year by His Majesty the King.
He explained that the case had already been subject to a formal verdict and sentencing by the court, but Thaksin fled abroad for 17 years before returning.
Since his return, the commuted sentence of one year in prison had not been enforced by the Corrections Department.
Kaewsan said that the justice minister was right to reject the application, which would have been turned down by the Office of the Privy Council anyway.
