A second former leading member of the Patani United Liberation Organisation, Da-oh Thanam, aka Da-oh Maseng, will be released on parole after serving 17 years in prison, as part of the peace effort in the far South, Corrections Department director-general Withaya Suriyawong said.
According to Daily News online, Mr Withaya said he had signed an order for Pattani Prison to set Da-oh free on Sept 21, under the government's policy to show sincerity in solving problems in the southern border provinces.
He will be the second former Pulo leader freed this year.
On July 17, Sama-ae Thanam was released for the same reason after serving 17 years in Yala Prison. He is Da-oh's brother.
Sama-ae and Da-oh were both imprisoned after being found guilty of rebellion, separatism, illegal armed assembly and other charges related to the long-running insurgency in the southern border provinces of Thailand.
Da-oh was arraigned in court in 1998. In 2002, he was sentenced to death by a court of first instance. The sentence was reduced to life because he provided useful information.
The lower court's decision was upheld by the Appeals Court in 2005, and by the Supreme Court in 2011.