Mentors Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 Thai court sent Aussie to 3 years in jail on lese majesty charge Thai court sentenced an Australian author to three years imprisonment on lese majesty charge on Monday. The court's ruling came as Harry Nicolaides, 41, pleaded guilty on the charge. He wrote a novel in 2005 which concerned royal activities. Nicolaides was initially sentenced to six years in jail but the punishment was reduced by half as he pleaded guilty. The court said it decided not to suspend the penalty because the defendant who was an author disseminate lese majesty information information in his book. ABC news online reported on Monday morning that Nicolaides was led barefoot into courtroom 811 in the Bangkok criminal court, chained by the leg and the wrist to another inmate. In talking to reporters he described the past four-and-a-half months since he was arrested as an "Alice in Wonderland" experience. He said he was hoping to wake up from a dream and find it all gone. He was visibly emotional as he spoke saying he wanted to make amends for his crime. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/01/19/national/national_30093593.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted January 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 Australian sentenced for insulting Thai monarchy HONG KONG: An Australian writer was sentenced to three years in prison Monday for insulting the Thai monarchy in a self-published novel. Harry Nicolaides, 41, originally received a six-year sentence, which the court said it reduced because he had pleaded guilty. The book, "Verisimilitude," was published in 2005 and reportedly sold fewer than a dozen copies. The case was brought under the country's strict lese majeste laws, which call for a jail term of up to 15 years for anyone who "defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen, the heir to the throne or the Regent." The presiding judge said Monday that parts of the book "suggested that there was abuse of royal power." The boundaries of the law are unclear, and cases can be brought by any citizen, involving a variety of alleged offenses. Dozens of cases are now pending. In addition, the government has closed down more than 2,000 Web sites that it says include material insulting to the monarchy. Speaking to reporters before the verdict was announced, Nicolaides said he has endured "unspeakable suffering" during five months of detention. "I would like to apologize," he added. "This can't be real. It feels like a bad dream." Nicolaides, who had been an English teacher in Thailand, was detained Aug. 31 as he was about to board a plane home, apparently unaware that an arrest warrant had been issued against him. "At night time he's in a cell with at least 50 other people," Nicolaides' attorney, Mark Dean, said in an interview last month with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "The sanitary conditions, to put it mildly, are basic. People suffer from TB and HIV. There is violence within the cell." A press release about the novel, posted on a blog called Costa del Gangster, called the book "an uncompromising assault on the patrician values of the monarchy." It said the book was "savage, ruthless and unforgiving" in revealing a society "obsessed with Western affluence and materialism." Nicolaides reportedly printed only 50 copies of the book --- a paperback, with a bright blue butterfly on the cover â?? and sold just 10. Long out of print, it is not listed on Amazon.com or other booksellers' Web sites. "I think it's reasonable to say that just writing a simple paragraph in a novel, to expect that would land you in such serious legal trouble, must have come as a surprise for Harry," Andrew Walker, a fellow in the Asia-Pacific Program at Australian National University, said on ABC. "I think Thailand is trying to send a message to international media, to writers, to bloggers, to people who are putting material on the Internet that the royal family is out of bounds." The lese-majeste cases come at a time of growing concern about the eventual succession of the highly revered king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, who is 81. He has no official political role but is a unifying force and peacemaker in a nation that has become increasingly factionalized and acrimonious. Last week the new prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, said that the monarchy must be protected because it offers "immense benefits to the country as a stabilizing force." But he said he would try to assure that the law is not abused. Most cases involve Thai citizens, although foreigners are sometimes also accused. In 2006 a Swiss man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for spray painting images of the king. He was pardoned by the king and released after serving about a month. A reporter for the BBC, Jonathan Head, was accused of lese majeste late last year in a complaint that cited reports he and others had written for the company. The company denies the allegations and says it is cooperating with authorities. One of the most prominent current cases involves a leading Thai academic and writer, Ji Ungpakorn, who has been called to a hearing Tuesday. He said the charge involves a book he wrote about the military coup in September 2006 that ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. At a news conference last week, he said the law "restricts freedom of speech and expression and does not allow for public accountability and transparency of the institution of the monarchy." In November, a prominent social critic and Buddhist intellectual, Sulak Sivaraksa, was charged with lese majeste for questioning the need for lavish celebrations of the king's reign. Last April, an activist named Chotisak Onsoong, was summoned by the police after refusing to stand up during the playing of the Royal Anthem before a movie. And a former government minister under Thaksin, Chakrapob Penkir, has been charged in connection with remarks he made at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. The police are obliged to investigate any charge of lese majeste, and Jakrapob said an accusation can be used as a political weapon. Accusations of disrespect for the monarchy were stated as one reason for the 2006 coup that ousted Thaksin http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/19/news/20THAI.php?page=2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lazyphil Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 hey he can look on the bright side, no more visa run hassle/work permit hassle for 3 years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 Always look on the bright side of life! :thumbup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted January 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 a petition is in progress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 Hi, Maybe he'll get hit with a massive overstay fine after getting out Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bust Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 Seen a pic of him... Looks pissed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 i guess his book will be sold very well...outside Thailand! just saw it on CNN! the guy looked very desperate and hopeless! hope for him that his majesty will pardon him like other farangs, who had no idea what consequences their activity could have... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvlbfms Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 Just one more reason I have skipped Thailand on my trips to SEA the last few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 hope for him that his majesty will pardon him like other farangs, who had no idea what consequences their activity could have... The Swiss guy in Chiang Mai was drunk. Not sure Harry can use that excuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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