The Director-General of the Department of Corrections revealed that no final decision has been made yet in reviewing the enforcement of criminal sentences for serious offenders. The meeting proposed minimum sentence durations that each case's inmate must serve before being eligible for reclassification as a serious offender.
At 11:00 a.m. on 24 Aug 2026 GMT+7, the Ministry of Justice held a meeting of the working group reviewing and improving the efficiency of criminal sentence enforcement and recidivism prevention measures. The meeting aimed to finalize the framework, criteria, and guidelines for a draft ministerial regulation defining benefits for serious offenders and the conditions for those who have had their sentences reduced or suspended and released. This was the second meeting of 2026, chaired by Police Lieutenant General Sai Phet Srisang, advisor to the Minister of Justice, delegated by Police Lieutenant General Ruththaphon Naowarat, Minister of Justice. Attendees included Police Lieutenant Colonel Prawut Wongsinin, Director-General of the Department of Corrections, Police Sub-Lieutenant Surawut Rangsai, Deputy Director-General, along with relevant executives and officials. The meeting lasted 1 hour and 30 minutes.
After the meeting, Police Lieutenant Colonel Prawut Wongsinin, Director-General of the Department of Corrections, briefly told reporters following the progress that today's meeting did not produce a final outcome as it was not yet complete. Regarding future inmates sentenced to death, a preliminary minimum criterion was proposed that they must have served no less than 25 years before being eligible for reclassification as serious offenders. However, this issue remains unresolved.
An internal report from the working group meeting today indicated proposals for minimum sentence durations for serious and severe cases. It was suggested that inmates must serve a minimum number of years before being eligible for reclassification as serious offenders. Initially, it was proposed that serious offenders sentenced to death by the court must have been incarcerated for at least 25 years from the final judgment date before promotion, whether under normal or special circumstances. Meanwhile, those sentenced to life imprisonment must have been detained for no less than 20 years from the final judgment date before reclassification, among other criteria.
Deputy Director-General Police Sub-Lieutenant Surawut Rangsai said that regarding the announcement of the 2026 Social Peace Enhancement Act, or the amnesty law, published in the Royal Gazette, the Department of Corrections is responsible for compiling lists of inmates under Section 6 of the law. This section requires receiving amnesty requests from interested parties, either from the inmates themselves or their relatives, and providing channels to facilitate these requests. Eligible inmates under this law are those imprisoned for political offenses from 1 Jan 2005 to 16 Jul 2025. However, currently, the Department must await the Social Peace Enhancement Committee's meeting to establish the framework, criteria, and guidelines. This committee will convene within 30 days after the law's publication in the Royal Gazette, after which the Department will implement the criteria.
The reporter added that the Social Peace Enhancement Committee, which must meet to set the framework and criteria within 30 days after the law's publication, comprises: 1. The Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister assigned by the Prime Minister as chairperson; 2. The Minister of Justice as vice-chairperson; 3. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice as member; 4. The Secretary-General of the National Human Rights Commission as member; 5. One expert in law, human rights, or criminal justice approved by the House of Representatives Coordination Committee as member; 6. One expert similarly approved by the Opposition Parties Coordination Committee as member; 7. One expert approved by the Council of University Presidents of Thailand as member; 8. One civil society expert on conflict management and justice appointed by the Speaker of the House as member; and 9. The Permanent Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office as member and secretary. The committee's first meeting must occur within 30 days from the law's effective date.
Additional reports indicate that the committee must make progress on setting criteria and guidelines within 180 days from its first meeting. Preliminary estimates suggest that fewer than 10,000 inmates nationwide qualify under this amnesty law, most being those convicted of multiple offenses, who meet the law's eligibility requirements.