BANGKOK , Thailand ( CNN ) -- The ex-wife of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned to Bangkok Friday to visit her ailing mother , a source close to the family told CNN . Pojaman Shinawatra arriving at a court in the Thai capital in July . Pojaman Shinawatra , 51 , and Thaksin went into exile in July , after a court sentenced her to three years imprisonment for tax evasion . She has appealed the conviction and is free on bail . There was no information on how long she might stay in the country . The two , who have been living in Hong Kong , divorced there in November . Thailand has been steeped in political turmoil since Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup and left the country . He was convicted in absentia of abusing power . Anti-government demonstrators who closed down Bangkok 's main airport for a week want Thaksin extradited and tried on the corruption charges . The airport reopened Wednesday . Although Thaksin was removed from power in a coup in 2006 , protesters have accused successive governments and the People Power Party ( PPP ) of serving as proxies for Thaksin . He returned to Thailand after PPP 's victory in 2007 , but fled the country again just as he was to appear in the corruption case . -- CNN 's Dan Rivers contributed to this report .
Thaksin , 51 , and Thaksin went into exile in three years . Had been sentenced to three years imprisonment for tax evasion . Divorced from Pojaman Shinawatra in 51 -- couple had been living in Thailand .