BANGKOK (AP) — Thaksin Shinawatra, the billionaire former prime minister of Thailand, remains one of the country’s most influential and controversial figures nearly two decades after being ousted in a 2006 military coup. His political journey, marked by unprecedented popularity, a dramatic fall from power, years in self-imposed exile and a high-profile return, continues to shape Thailand’s political landscape.

His dramatic path took another turn on Friday, defying expectations when a court that has historically leaned against him and his political machine acquitted him of royal defamation, an offense that could have sent him to prison for up to 15 years.

Despite powerful enemies in the Thai establishment and criminal convictions for corruption, he avoided prison by going into exile after

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