Bangkok, Feb 17 (IANS): Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on Saturday said that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is set to be released on February 18.

Thaksin, 74, is among the 930 inmates approved for parole this month, the Justice Department said, Xinhua news agency reported.

He is eligible for parole as he is over 70 years old and suffers from serious illness.

Thaksin, who ended his exile of over 15 years and returned to Thailand in August 2023, was soon detained and sentenced to an eight-year prison sentence on several charges.

However, he was soon transferred from a Bangkok prison to a hospital due to health concerns and has remained in hospital since.

Last September, Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn reduced Thaksin's prison term to one year following his request for a royal pardon.

Thaksin served as the Southeast Asian country's prime minister from 2001 to 2006 and had been in self-exile abroad since 2008.