After Thaksin’s move to hospital, the hashtag VVIP begun trending and footage of him in exile – including a 2021 clip of him energetically boxing – was shared on social media, as people raised questions about the seriousness of his condition.

Parit Chiwarak, a prominent protest leader also known as Penguin, was transferred to hospital only on the 47th day of his hunger strike. Other young protesters imprisoned for lese-majesty have waited longer to be hospitalised. Medication is also limited in the prison, Warunee has told her lawyers. She has bipolar disorder, and it is feared that sleep deprivation due to her hunger strike and conditions inside may exacerbate her condition. Poonsuk says she was particularly concerned about Warunee’s wellbeing. Her body weight had already dropped 10%, from 37kg to 33kg. One woman, known as Warunee and represented by TLHR, was moved to a university hospital this week, but only after spending 14 days on hunger strike. Some have contrasted Thaksin’s swift transfer to hospital with that of the political prisoners charged under the country’s strict lese-majesty laws, who can spend weeks on hunger strike before they are taken to hospital. “But from our experiences in working with other prisoners, that’s an unusually quick timeframe.”

“There may be certain facts or circumstances in Mr Thaksin’s case that required such expedited procedure,” Poonsuk Poonsukcharoen, a lawyer at TLHR, says of Thaksin’s overnight transfer. Activists and lawyers say that when inmates do become ill, accessing medical care is a drawn-out process. If prisoners want to buy bottled water or food, they must work in the prison or rely on family to send items. Prison water has a strong smell of chlorine, inmates say, with some reporting seeing mosquito larvae in the water. Political prisoners represented by TLHR have, like others, reported a lack of nutritious food and clean drinking water. Cells can be shared by as many as 50 or 60 people, according to the group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR). In the centre of a cell there are typically one to three squat toilets, with a tub of water and a bowl used for flushing and cleaning – but often such water has run out, the FIDH report found. Photograph: Jorge Silva/ReutersĪccess to showering facilities is often extremely limited in one facility, inmates are allowed to stand under a shower only for the time it takes a prison guard to count up to 15. Inmates sit on the floor during an inspection of the long-term sentence zone in Klong Prem high-security prison in Bangkok. In a recent article for the Bangkok Post, Andrea Giorgetta of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) writes: “One positive aspect of the Thaksin saga is that it has put a spotlight on the often-overlooked issue of prison conditions in Thailand.” The FIDH’s latest annual report on the state of jails noted that while the prison population was falling, jails remained overstretched and had been repeatedly criticised for falling below international standards. They say the same standard of care should be afforded to all prisoners. However, activists and lawyers have pointed to conditions inside Thailand’s jails, where cells are overcrowded and lacking in hygiene and medical care is limited. Officials have denied he’s been the recipient of any special treatment, saying the former prime minister needed urgent care as he was experiencing insomnia, chest tightness and high blood pressure and the oxygen levels in his fingertips were low. The exact contents of his room are unclear. According to reports in Thai media, Thaksin was moved to the wing of a hospital with private rooms fitted with air conditioning and a TV, fridge, sofa and dining table, while under 24-hour care by nurses.

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