Author Jailed in Thailand

And in Thailand today a Thai court has sentenced an Australian writer to three years in jail for defaming the crown prince. Rights groups are up in arms saying this is the latest in a slew of lese majeste cases that are stifling freedom of speech in the country.
Harry Nicolaides remained impassive as he heard the sentence given to him. It stemmed from his 2005 novel called Verisimilitude which was hardly a best seller. He only sold seven copies.

Nicolaides says he still did not know who had filed the police complaint about the novel. But on one Thai website it was referred to it as an uncompromising assault on the patrician values of the monarchy.

The judge said Nicolaides' confession had led to his sentence being reduced from six to three years.

[Harry Nicolaides, Writer]: "I wish my family the best."

[Reporter]:"How do you feel?"

[Harry Nicolaides, Writer]: "Dreadful"

He had been teaching English at a university in the northern city of Chiang Mai.

Nicolaides was arrested at a Bangkok airport on September 3 as he tried
to leave the country. He was unaware of an arrest warrant that was issued earlier in March.

Lese majeste, or insulting the monarchy, is a very serious offence in Thailand, where many people regard 81-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej as semi-divine. It is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Critics of the law say it is open to abuse since a complaint can be filed by anybody against anybody, no matter how minor the alleged disrespect.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• ntd
• thailand
• australia
• crown prince
• freedom of speech
• harry nicolaides
• verisimilitude

[hiphop101x]

what happens if some1 caught with a hooker? seems to a sex tourism hot-spot yet you would be sweating doin a weed deal there

[quantumcranium]

Hey asshole mesha.....the thai monarchy have taken more refugees than any other country in the worlds history ever!!..think before u open that big trap of yours....u liable to eat a muay thai elbow.

[mishima1974]

The king is great because of the cheap hookers he provides to the world.

[TheDavidedmond]

They should sentence him To life, white bastard

[opsvideo2008]

@captaincomputa I also agree with you on that point. If you are a foreigner who doesn't want any necessary trouble in Thailand, just keep the monarchy out of your conversation and you should be fine. That said, the lese majesty law, in my opinion is still a law of fear and oppression which can be freely abused by anyone to get rid of their enemies. And many people have been wrongly jailed by this law.

[opsvideo2008]

@WORLD8NSH5KNIGHT1 I fully agree with your viewpoint. Lese majesty cultivates an environment of fear among the citizens, not knowing who will abuse it to get them falsely accused and arrested. It is a law of fear and repression which has for decades , if not centuries imprinted upon the mindset of the typical Thai citizen, and now the evil politicians are making free use of it to decimate their enemies.

[avatarng]

@WORLD8NSH5KNIGHT1

because our value and yours is not the same.

when i travel to england i respect your laws and all we asked from you is that you do the same when in thailand.

you would not like it if i piss on your flag or the queen's palace.

[avatarng]

@WORLD8NSH5KNIGHT1

I like to see you try to do that in China.

[WORLD8NSH5KNIGHT1]

Thailand with Lese Majeste makes the officially Communist Peoples Republic of China look like a liberal democracy.Its probably easier to criticise Hu Jintao in Shanghai than it is to criticise the king in Bangkok

The apologists will use 'culture' as an excuse for this repression

[WORLD8NSH5KNIGHT1]

@taffelost

Indeed. And brave westerners get off 'lightly' in comparison to the brave Thais who stand up against this law. Their courage is incredible. This is a very worrying situation and one that should be scrutinised much more by free nations. The fact that so many brainwashed Thais defend it indicates both widespread ignorance and a sinister acceptance of this repression. Thailand is heading down a dark path...