Thaksin may not be entitled to pardon…from who?
Thaksin the democracy symbol and poor people leader
Justice Minister Peerapan Saleerathawipak said on Monday that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra may not be entitled to get a royal pardon.
He said that in practice a person to seek a royal pardon must be a convict who must have served some time in prison in the country.
Mr Peerapan said there has never been a precedent of the people signing up a petition to request for a royal pardon for anyone before. He said there is not a law that fixed criteria for authorities to follow because it is the King’s power whether or not to pardon individual convicts.
He said in most cases, it is the convicts themselves or their relatives that lodge the petition.
Usually, a convict entitled to be pardoned must have served time in the country. In Thaksin’s case, the former prime minister is abroad and has never been imprisoned in the country, making it even more unlikely for him to seek a royal pardon.
The justice minister said the Corrections Department should be the agency to make this matter clear.
