April 29, 2026 at 9:19 am BANGKOK (AP) — Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is set to be released from a Bangkok prison next month after a Justice Ministry panel decision to grant him parole, the Corrections Department announced on Wednesday. The decision to release him from Klong Prem Central Prison on May 11 comes as the 76-year-old Thaksin completes the legally required minimum of two-thirds of his one-year sentence. His freedom will mark the end of a tangled legal saga that began after Thaksin returned to Thailand from more than a decade of self-imposed exile in 2023. He was sentenced the same year to eight years in prison for abuse of power. The billionaire telecommunications magnate served as prime minister from 2001 to 2006, when a military coup ousted him. His ouster triggered nearly two decades of deep political polarization, pitting his supporters against opponents. The political machine he founded remains active and influential, though not as popular as it once was.…