Australian author sentenced to three years in jail on lese majesty charge

[Mentors]

FACTBOX: Lese majeste cases in Thailand

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai police formally charged leading leftist commentator Giles Ungpakorn on Tuesday with insulting the king, the latest in a slew of lese majeste cases critics say are stifling dissent and freedom of speech.

 

Following are details of some of those who have recently fallen foul of the law, which carries between 3 and 15 years in prison for insults or threats to the deeply revered monarchy.

 

In many cases, the status of the investigation is unclear due to police reluctance to discuss the taboo issue of the monarchy's role in politics, which is officially nil.

 

JAKRAPOB PENKAIR - A spokesman for ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Jakrapob had to resign as a minister in the pro-Thaksin government in May after being accused of slandering the king in a talk at Bangkok's Foreign Correspondents' Club.

 

JONATHAN HEAD - The British BBC correspondent in Bangkok has received three lese majeste complaints. One was related to an online BBC story not written by Head which did not place the photograph of the king at the top of the page, as is customary in Thailand.

 

CHOTISAK ONSOONG - The young political activist was accused by police in April of insulting the monarchy for refusing to stand during the royal anthem that precedes all movie screenings in Thailand.

 

JITRA KOTCHADEJ - A union activist and friend of Chotisak, Jitra was fired by bosses at her clothing factory in August for appearing on a TV panel discussion wearing a T-shirt saying "Not standing is not a crime," a reference to Chotisak.

It is not known if she has been charged by police.

 

SULAK SIVARAKSA - A leading academic and long-time critic of the lese majeste law, the 75-year-old was taken from his Bangkok home late one night in November and driven 450 km (280 miles) to a police station in the northeast province of Khon Kaen.

There, he was charged with insulting the monarchy in a university lecture he gave in December the previous year.

 

HARRY NICOLAIDES - An Australian author, English teacher and long-time resident of Thailand, Nicolaides was sentenced to three years in jail this week for defaming the crown prince in his 2005 novel, 'Verisimilitude'. Only seven copies of the book were sold.

 

DARUNEE CHARNCHOENGSILPAKUL - More commonly known as "Da Torpedo," the pro-Thaksin campaigner was arrested in July after delivering an exceptionally strong 30-minute speech denouncing the 2006 coup and the monarchy.

She is thought still to be behind bars, although it is not known if she has been formally charged.

 

SUWICHA THAKHOR - Suwicha was arrested last week on suspicion of posting comments on the Internet that insulted the monarchy. His arrest coincided with a speech by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva saying the law should not be abused.

 

OLIVER JUFER - The Swiss national was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2007 for spraying black paint on huge public portraits of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. He was pardoned and deported after serving four months.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE50J21U20090120

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

Tough way to do it, but it isn't as bad as doing something as equally stupid in say... China, or maybe Burma. How many farang recently have gone to prison for a 'long period' of time for this? Hopefully they make an example of this twat and he has to do the full time in the monkey house! 5555555! That would be a surprise for him wouldn't it? He's counting on someone's well-known leniency.

 

No sympathy here. Can't do the time... don't do the crime you sad moron.

[Gadfly]

That thought had crossed my mind. Quick way for a writer to gain world recognition.

 

Uh...that was the point I made in my earlier post, which was somehow misconstrued as saying that it is OK to break Thai law.

 

Not directed at you specifically, but everyone pause for a moment and actually think about this. According to the BBC only seven copies of the book sold before his arrest. I had never heard about this guy or his book until quite recently. Had anyone else heard about this guy or his book before his arrest? I doubt it. No one knew about or was interested in his book...until now.

 

And now, with his arrest, conviction and three year prison sentence he is front page news outside of Thailand. He is a cause célèbre worldwide. His purported allegations will be highlighted to the world. And there is nothing the Thai authorities can do about that.

 

Imposing a three year prison sentence on this guy is the same as (no, actually better than) begging the international media to look further into and further publicize what the authorities fear he was trying say. They threw gasoline on a small smoldering fire.

 

This was all absolutely predictable. Itâ??s reminiscent of the YouTube fiasco. And I cannot figure out why the authorities didn't see this coming. It was so obvious from the outset.

 

If he had been quietly deported, none of this would have happened. This thread would not exist, there wouldn't be stories about him and what teh authorities think he was trying to say on the BBC and countless other websites and his picture would not have been on the front page of today's Bangkok Post.

 

His arrest and conviction certainly isn't going to deter anyone. It's only going to provoke more of this (from outside of Thailand). Wait and see. I simply don't understand why the authorities (and some members of this board) don't get this obvious point. This isn't rocket science.

 

Problem is that you can't unring the bell now.

[CTO]

Ridiculous law and stupid sentence - good to see the Thais at the Post a little more concerned about their countries actions than most farangs.

[itsmedave]

I'm a little appalled by the lack of sympathy here and the near total defense of you all for the Thai gov't and this stupid law.

 

I never have and never will understand the argument that we are supposed to respect stupid laws we disagree with.

 

Progress is never made when we sit back and do nothing in the face of injustice.

 

Maybe I'm getting riled up due to the inauguration of our first black president today...but all of these demonstrations of how this man was supposed to respect a bad law made me think of a lady named Rosa Parks.

 

A black lady in the south who refused to sit in the back of the bus even though it was the law at the time. She was also persecuted...but in the end the bad law was changed. Now, she is considered a hero for standing up to power.

 

With all lese majeste laws, aren't we also being forced to the back of a bus, allowing a certain group of people always to ride in front.

 

Maybe instead of respecting bad laws we should be encouraging more people to break this nonsensical law until they are forced to change it.

 

It is shameful that a man should be sent to prison for any amount of time for writing a book. That is the underlying point here...regardless of what any law says. That is what we should be respecting.

[Flashermac]

Dave, you're a nice guy and I like you. But your comparison is absurb. Rosa Parks was a black AMERICAN who was fed up with discriminatory laws based solely on her RACE.

 

We are not being forced into the back of any bus, since it is NOT OUR COUNTRY. If we don't like the way things are here, we can pack up and go home. Rosa Parks couldn't. She was home!

 

Yes, the laws are stupid. But they are Thai laws and we have to respect them when we live here. The prat who did this surely knew what would happen. Say what you want, but be prepared for the consequences. Isn't that what Henry David Thoreau said so long ago? Civil disobedience is fine. But be willing to pay the price.

 

If the Thais don't like the laws, it is up to them - not us - to change them.

 

 

Now off my soap box.

 

 

 

[..]

Up, I gotta go with Flash here. As much as I think LM laws are stoopid, they are what they are.

 

And yes, defy at will, I respect that. But be prepared. That's a big reason I totally disrespect the USA righties who want to, for instance, refuse to prescribe legal meds even tho' that is their job. They should lose their job IMHO, not be canonized -- yet that is what they only settle for: reward vs punishment.

 

Sorry for throwing USA politics into this, but an apt comparison to me.

 

Cheers,

SD

[chuckwoww]

This is a wonderful opportunity for free speech advocates who live in Thailand to sign Harry's petition.

[..]

That's the problem innit? Life is compromise. Do I literally give up my life for a principal? Now, my life, my biz, my everything, is in LoS. Yes, I could move it, but very painful and it would impact my biz, and therefore my care of my family (it may still happen if the reasons "break the camel's back").

 

If I were 20, it would be a non-issue and I'd be the champion here. Unfortunately, now, too many depend upon me; so I am more subtle. I do what I can, vocally, financially, and anonymously; and hope that lets me not sell out my principles while taking care of my responsibilities?

 

Does that make me a coward? I think so, in some respects. And I struggle with that daily.

 

But we all do what we have to do. At least I do not totally sell out and become a total conservative as most folks do when they age.

 

Cheers,

SD

[itsmedave]

Flash,

 

You are a nice guy too and I like you as well...but for the 6 years I lived there, Thailand was my home. Why shouldn't I want the same freedoms as everybody else in the country.

 

There are plenty of Thai's now in jail for the same offense...several listed earlier in this thread.

 

Are you saying we shouldn't try to stop bad things from happening just because they aren't happening in our country? Bad news for those people in Sudan if everybody agreed with you.

 

Bad is bad, it should have a light shone on it, and it should be stopped.

 

a man is imprisoned for writing a book...shouldn't matter where it happened, this is an injustice and should be vilified.

 

I could also argue that while Ms Parks was technically an American, she had the same rights as a foreigner in Thailand would as a black in the White south.

 

Would you have told her she should quietly disagree but respect the law and go to the back of the bus. Would some of you call her an idiot because she had to know there would be consequences? Would others call her a "cock" only trying to make a name for herself and some money (which did happen)

 

Bottom line for me...a bad law is a bad law. Unjust imprisonment is unjust imprisonment.

 

As a citizen of the world, we should be against that.

 

Now I will quietly return to the back of the bus.