18 replies to this topic

[koykaeng]

Writer held for 'insulting' Thai royals

By Jonathan Head
BBC News, Bangkok



Until this month, few people had ever heard of, let alone read, a novel by aspiring Australian writer Harry Nicolaides entitled Verisimilitude.

According to the author, it was published three years ago, and in his own words "pulls away the mask of benign congeniality that Thailand has disguised itself with for decades, and reveals a people who are obsessed with Western affluence and materialism".

The book sank into immediate obscurity. Only 50 copies were printed, and just seven sold.

Mr Nicolaides, 41, continued to work in Thailand - as a lecturer in hospitality and tourism at a university in the northern town of Chiang Rai, writing the occasional article on lurid topics like the trade in child pornography, or relationships with Thai bar-girls. There are plenty of other foreigners making a living in much the same way.


I feel persecuted, to be honest... I want to be given a chance to apologise and explain
Harry Nicolaides

But one passage in his forgotten novel has come back to haunt him.

It refers briefly, and unflatteringly, to the lifestyle of a crown prince, presumed by the Thai authorities to be Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, heir to the throne. They have used it as the basis for a charge of "lese-majeste" against Mr Nicolaides.

A warrant for his arrest was issued in March this year, but - such is the habitual secrecy that surrounds all "lese-majeste" cases - he was never informed of this.

He continued to travel in and out of Thailand on visa runs, until 31 August, when he was detained as he was about to board a flight to Australia.

'Icy looks'

Today he is being held in a remand centre in Bangkok, awaiting trial.


He was able to raise bail of 500,000 Thai baht ($15,000), but denied it on the grounds that he might flee the country.

Clearly stressed and bewildered, he was able to speak to reporters briefly during visiting hour.

"I feel persecuted, to be honest," he said. "I don't feel I belong here. I want to be given a chance to apologise and explain, but not be in here, and experience these indignities and inhumanities," Mr Nicolaides said.

He said he was being held in a cell with 90 other inmates, all of them Thai.

"Someone learned that I am here for offending the monarch, and I had some very icy looks from men with tattoos from neck-to-toe," he said.

'Odd assortment'

The nightmarish situation Mr Nicolaides finds himself in is a chilling reminder of the severity of Thailand's "lese-majeste" law - he faces up to 15 years in jail - and of the unpredictability of its enforcement.


The clause in all recent Thai constitutions (there have been 17 since 1932) simply reads: "The King shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated. No person shall expose the King to any sort of accusation or action."

Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code reads: "Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to 15 years."

Nowhere is there a definition of what constitutes an insult to the monarchy. Nor does the royal family ever invoke the law itself - "lese-majeste" complaints can be filed by anyone, against anyone, and they must always be formally investigated by the police.

So, the law has netted an odd assortment of offenders over the years.

A drunk Swiss man who sprayed graffiti on the king's portrait; a French passenger on Thai Airways who refused to turn off his reading light while sitting next to a princess; and more recently two young Thais who failed to stand up for the king's anthem in the cinema.

Heightened sensitivity

But the authorities do appear to be getting tougher on any comments deemed insulting or damaging to the royal family.

The government recently announced it was blocking 1,200 websites, a third of them because they referred to the monarchy (the rest were blocked mainly because they were pornographic).

This heightened sensitivity is understandable, as King Bhumibol is 80 years old, and there is acute public anxiety over the succession and the untested capabilities of the crown prince.

At a time of such political turmoil, maintaining the monarchy's image has become a vital priority.

Harry Nicolaides now says he wants to apologise wholeheartedly for any offence his novel caused.

"I do feel some clemency should be extended to cases where a person's record demonstrates they are not running an ongoing campaign against the crown," he said.

He is probably fortunate. Even if he is convicted and sentenced, in the past King Bhumibol has always quickly pardoned foreigners who have found themselves on the wrong side of this law.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.u...fic/7604935.stm

Published: 2008/09/09 00:32:30 GMT

[jimbo34]

A frightening, if interesting story.
The King is god-like here, and it will be interesting to see how things develop on his succession with the Crown Prince. Perhaps in view of this article i had better not voice my own opinions on this subject!

[Phil Lander]

Glad I stood up in the cinema when my companion prompted me to . Getting into trouble is not my idea of a fun holiday , especially when you dont know all the rules.

[dixon cox]

I don't mind at all standing up in the cinema, but I always feel conscious that I'm blocking the view of the King's images to those behind me.

I always find the clip of the boxer holding up a framed picture of the King quite touching, as if to say "I did it for you".

[Phil Lander]

Do you Poms still have to stand up for the Queen in Cinemas?

[petesie]

Only if she was holding me dick.....

[payoff]

I don't mind standing even if I were completely alone in the movie theatre.

In Thailand someone is ALWAYS watching.

[dixon cox]

In Thailand someone is ALWAYS watching.

Ain't that the truth.

The only place you're truly free of anyone is in your own hotel room or apartment. Even then the fucking maid's wrapping on the door at some ungodly time of day, like 2 in the afternoon.

[Legend]

dixon is right about the boxer scene in the cinema.
i found the whole cinema thing quite touching.
it prompted me to ask a few thai,s about why they hold the king in such high esteem.
its a long story,with interesting answers, but boiled down to the king helping the poor people.
now let me put that into a british similarity.
a lot of my neighbours never work, smoke 20 a day , get pissed every weekend, and drive a car, and still moan.
they should have a picture of tony blair above the fireplace.
scrounging bastards think that england owes them a living.
like to see them in the heart of isaarn with their 3 kids.

[koykaeng]

Tearful reunion as Nicolaides returns to Melbourne

An Australian author who has spent more than five months in a Thai jail has made an emotional return to Melbourne.

Harry Nicolaides, 41, was arrested last August and was sentenced to three years' jail last month for insulting the Thai monarchy in his 2005 book, Verisimilitude.

Mr Nicolaides was deported from Thailand at midnight and arrived in Melbourne this afternoon.

He says he is in shock.

"[I am] bewildered and dazed, nauseous," he said.

"I've been crying for eight hours, I learned only a few minutes before boarding my flight that my mother has suffered a stroke."

He says he was told to kneel before a picture of the Thai king and was granted a pardon just hours before his flight.

"I ran out of tears but I never ran out of hope or love," he said.

"I hope hope that no other Australian has to go through the ordeal that I endured for the last five and a half months."

His lawyer, Mark Dean, said earlier the pardon was granted on Thursday night and Nicolaides was deported from Thailand at midnight.

"The Australian Government and the Thai Government have been working together very closely on the resolution of Harry's case," he said.

"The various steps that had to be taken in Thailand were expedited in this case, resulting in the King being able to grant the pardon last Thursday."

TV images of a deeply distraught Nicolaides led to widespread concern in Australia, with his family shocked as he was brought to the court in prison garb and chains.

He described his time in prison as "torture" and "a bad dream" and has expressed remorse over the publication.

[kliome]

A couple of youtube clips of the story.