Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrives at the Supreme Court in Bangkok on Sept. 9, 2025, ahead of a ruling on whether he properly served a prison term in 2023. | AFP-JIJI Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be released on parole after serving eight months in jail, paving the way for his possible return to politics as his family’s party takes a lesser role in a new conservative-led government. Thaksin, 76, has been approved for release on May 11, having met requirements such as serving two-thirds of his one-year sentence that began in September, the Thai Department of Corrections said in a statement. The patriarch of the Shinawatra clan will be subject to parole conditions, including wearing an electronic monitoring device, for four months before he becomes a free man. Some 858 other inmates will also be paroled, the department said. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.…