Economist pulled again from Thailand newsstands after monarchy article | Media | The Guardian Economist pulled again from Thailand newsstands after monarchy article Ian McKinnon Monday 26 January 2009 12.45 EST First published on Monday 26 January 2009 12.45 EST Close This article is 7 years old The Economist has for a second time in two months failed to appear in Thailand amid concerns over its coverage of the country's monarchy. In a message to subscribers the Economist explained that its Thai distributor had decided not to circulate the London-based international weekly. This week's issue published last Friday considers the fate of an Australian novelist, Harry Nicolaides, 41, who was jailed for three years for insulting the Thai monarchy. Last month the magazine published a critical analysis of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 81, and the monarchy's role in the political tumult that has beset Thailand over the past three years. The Economist's December issue also discussed the lese-majesty laws that threaten up to 15 years imprisonment and called for an open discussion of the monarchy despite the legislation that stifles debate.

Publishers of the magazine decided not to send that issue of the magazine to Thailand out of consideration for its local distributor who would have risked falling foul of the laws. The latest edition discusses the case of Melbourne-born Nicolaides, who pleaded guilty to lese-majesty over a 103-word passage in his self-published novel, Verisimilitude, considered insulting to Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn. Nicolaides' offending 2005 novel sold just seven copies in Thailand before it was belatedly withdrawn from bookshelves, though a copy is still available in Bangkok's national library. The Australian writer is one of few foreigners convicted of lese-majesty despite an increasingly febrile atmosphere that has seen thousands of websites critical of the monarchy blocked and many Thais prosecuted. Nicolaides is seeking a royal pardon, hoping to match a Swiss man pardoned and deported within a month of his lese-majesty conviction two years ago. This week's Economist article goes on to examine Thais' changing mood.

The piece says that following the prolonged political crisis – particularly the eight-day closure of the airport by royalist protesters – many ordinary Thais are more willing to openly discuss the monarchy's role in public life. The remarks appear to have been too risky or inflammatory for the Economist's Thai distributors. "This week our distributors in Thailand have decided not to deliver The Economist in light of our coverage relating to the Thai monarchy," the publishers told subscribers in an apologetic email. Despite the magazine's absence, the article could still be read on the internet as the website was not blocked by the Thai government. • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. • If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". Australian Author Harry Nicolaides Jailed for Insulting Thai Royalty Australian writer Harry Nicolaides listens to a journalist's question from a criminal court cell while waiting to hear charges in Bangkok, Thailand Jan. 19, 2009.

Australian Author Harry Nicolaides Jailed for Insulting Thai Royalty January 20, 2009 09:44 AM A Nightmare Unfolds Harry Nicolaides, 41, pleaded guilty to opposing Thailand’s royal family in his novel “Verisimilitude,” which only sold “a handful of copies,” his family told Agence France-Presse. Nicolaides, who was advised to plead guilty for a lesser sentence, could have faced 15 years behind bars otherwise. His Melbourne-based lawyer Mark Dean said he “would immediately appeal for a royal pardon.” Nicolaides has worked as a lecturer at a northern Thai university, and was detained in the departure lounge of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport on Aug. 31, 2009 but was unaware at the time that a warrant had been issued for his arrest two and a half years prior, AFP reported. In a video filmed before the sentencing and posted on BBC News, Nicolaides was visibly distraught, telling reporters the entire experience felt like a nightmare.

His case echoes the Thai government’s ruling earlier this month to block 2,300 Web sites considered insulting to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, as well as the state firings of two newspaper editors in Vietnam. Thai officials also said they planned to establish a 24-hour facility devoted to Internet monitoring to ensure that violations against the royal family do not go unnoticed. Opinion & Analysis: Lèse majesté and freedom of speech Critics have been outspoken, to a certain extent, regarding Thailand’s invasion of international standards of free speech . But “[t]he Thai public is unable to judge the merits of these supposed offences because the press cannot explain them properly without being accused of repeating the crime,” laments an editorial in The Economist. The New Mandela blog concurs. “In Thailand, it is even hard to report the details of a lèse majesté charge without fear of sanction,” write bloggers Andrew Walker and Nicholas Farrelly. Furthermore, “Detailed reporting runs the risk of repeating the offence. Self-censorship reigns. So Harry Nicolaides will be unlikely to ever see substantial details about his case published in the Thai media,” the duo assert.

Australian teacher jailed for three years after insulting Thai king | World news | The Guardian Australian teacher jailed for three years after insulting Thai king Prosecution comes amid rising tide of lese-majesty cases in Thailand Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit review a guard of honour in Bangkok. Photograph: Sakchai Lalit/AP Monday 19 January 2009 08.31 EST First published on Monday 19 January 2009 08.31 EST Close This article is 7 years old A court in Thailand today sentenced an Australian man to three years in prison for insulting the country's revered monarchy, in one of the few convictions of foreigners under harsh lese-majesty laws. Harry Nicolaides' sentence had been halved from six years by the five-judge panel in Bangkok because he apologised and pleaded guilty to the charge, which carries a maximum jail term of 15 years. The 41-year-old looked tense as he stood in orange prison-issue overalls – shackled at the ankles and handcuffed – while the judgment that he had insulted King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 81, was read out.

Nicolaides, a teacher from Melbourne, who has lived in Thailand for several years, was accused of insulting the king, the crown prince and the monarchy in a self-published 2005 novel, Verisimilitude. The offending passage – read out in court – told of scandalous gossip about a fictional prince and the judge said it "suggested abuse of royal power". The novel has sold just seven copies in Thailand. Earlier a tearful Nicolaides said he had "unqualified respect for the king" and had never intended to insult the man who is the world's longest-serving monarch. "I would like to apologise," he said, as guards led him from the court. "This can't be real. This is an Alice in Wonderland experience. I really believe that I'm going to wake up and it will all be gone." His case comes amid a rising tide of lese-majesty accusations and prosecutions, apparently spurred by Thailand's political polarisation as complaints can be filed by anyone against another. Nicolaides still does not know who filed the complaint against him.

He was arrested in August as he tried to leave Bangkok's international airport, oblivious to an arrest warrant issued in March over the book he describes as a commentary on social and political life in Thailand. He was indicted in November and denied bail. He said he endured "unspeakable suffering" during the five months he was in custody awaiting trial. As he left the court, the shaven-headed Nicolaides gave no indication if he would appeal against the sentence or apply for a royal pardon, saying only he wished his "family the best". Two years ago a Swiss man sentenced to 10 years for defacing images of the king with spray paint while drunk was given a royal pardon and deported after serving a month in prison. Australian jailed for three years for insulting Thai royals - World - smh.com.au Australian jailed for three years for insulting Thai royals Australian writer Harry Nicolaides in a criminal court cell. Photo: AP Plea for mercy for jailed author January 19, 2009 An Australian writer was sentenced to three years in jail by a Thai court on Monday after he pleaded guilty to insulting Thailand's revered royal family in a novel, a judge said.

Harry Nicolaides, 41, appeared in a Bangkok court wearing a dark orange prison jumpsuit with his hands cuffed and his feet shackled, an AFP reporter said. He has already been in custody for nearly five months. "He has written a book that slandered the king, the crown prince and Thailand and the monarchy," the judge told the court. "He was found guilty under criminal law article 112 and the court has sentenced him to six years, but due to his confession, which is beneficial to the case, the sentence is reduced to three years," the judge said. Leaving the court, Nicolaides told reporters: "I wish my family the best." Nicolaides' lawyer said he would seek a royal pardon for the sentence, the latest in a series of penalties under Thailand's notoriously harsh laws against insulting the monarchy. A gaunt-looking Nicolaides earlier told the judge he was guilty of slandering 81-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Nicolaides, who had previously worked as a university lecturer in northern Thailand, was detained at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport departure lounge on August 31 on an arrest warrant issued two-and-a-half years earlier. The charge relates to a passage in a self-published novel in 2005 titled "Verisimilitude". His family has said that only a handful of copies were ever sold. "People told me they will make a deal if I plead guilty. I pleaded not guilty last time with advice from someone," Nicolaides said outside court before the hearing. "I respect the king of Thailand," he added. "I was aware there were obscure laws (about the monarchy) but I didn't think they would apply to me." Nicolaides' Melbourne-based lawyer Mark Dean said his client's health had deteriorated as a result of five months in prison. "He has found the circumstances of his imprisonment very challenging," Dean told AFP. "His physical health has deteriorated, he has lost weight, he has been continually unwell for extended periods of time. And obviously psychologically he has found the experience of being in prison in Thailand very challenging." Dean said earlier Nicolaides would immediately appeal for a royal pardon.

"Once that sentence is passed, if it's not a suspended sentence, then an application will be made for a royal pardon and we're hoping that that will be processed as quickly as possible," he added. In 2007 a Swiss man, Oliver Jufer, was sentenced to 10 years in jail for defacing pictures of the king but he was later given a royal pardon and deported from the country. Successive Thai governments have in recent months intensified the policing of laws against insulting the royal family. The country's lese majeste laws are some of the harshest in the world. Thai authorities have banned nearly 4,000 websites in recent months for allegedly insulting the monarchy. Police said last week that more than 17 criminal cases of insulting the royal family are currently active. BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Writer jailed for Thai 'insult' Writer jailed for Thai 'insult' Advertisement Harry Nicolaides says his jailing "feels like a bad dream" Australian writer Harry Nicolaides has been sentenced to three years in a Thai jail for insulting the monarchy. Nicolaides wrote a novel four years ago, which contained a brief passage referring to an unnamed crown prince. It sold just seven copies.

He admitted the charge of insulting the royal family, but said he was unaware he was committing an offence. Thailand's monarchy is sheltered from public debate by some of the world's most stringent "lese-majeste" laws. A 'bad dream' Harry Nicolaides was arrested as he was leaving the country last August. His self-published book, called Verisimilitude, was hardly well-received; in fact the only copy which is still known to exist sits on the shelf of the Thai National Library, freely available to the public. Shackled in leg irons, and wearing standard-issue prison pyjamas, Nicolaides pleaded guilty to the charges against him at Bangkok's Criminal Court on Monday. King Bhumibol is revered in Thailand He was quickly found guilty, with a judge telling the court: "He has written a book that slandered the king, the crown prince and Thailand and the monarchy." The court initially sentenced him to six years in jail, but reduced the term because of his guilty plea. Before the trial Nicolaides had seemed stunned by what was happening to him, describing it is like a ''bad dream''.

But he is just one of a growing number of people being investigated and charged under Thailand's draconian "lese-majeste" law, as the police and army try to suppress what they fear is a rising tide of anti-monarchy sentiment. More than 3,000 websites have now been blocked, and one political activist was jailed for six years in November for an anti-monarchy speech she made just a stone's throw from the old royal palace last July. Several other people are now awaiting trial. As a repentant foreigner, Harry Nicolaides does at least have a good chance of being pardoned by the king, according to the BBC correspondent in Bangkok, Jonathan Head. The king did the same for a Swiss man given a 10-year sentence two years ago for defacing his portrait. Bookmark with: Australian writer Harry Nicolaides jailed for three years for insulting Thai Royal Family - Wikinews, the free news source Australian writer Harry Nicolaides jailed for three years for insulting Thai Royal Family From Wikinews, the free news source you can write! (Image missing from commons: image ; log ) Melbourne writer Harry Nicolaides, 41, was sentenced on Monday to three years imprisonment for defaming the Royal Family of Thailand .

He had pled guilty to the lèse majesté indictment that arose from a self-published 2005 novel, Verisimilitude, of which only 50 copies were printed, and just seven sold. Meanwhile, yesterday, the Thai police charged a leading leftist political science professor, Dr. Giles Ji Ungpakorn , with lèse majesté. The passage of concern, which comprised only 103 words or 12 lines, referred to a crown prince's love life. This allegedly insulted the lifestyle of H.R.H. Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn , the only son of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit . The Royal Family of Thailand is the current ruling house of the Kingdom of Thailand , the Head of the House of the King of Thailand . It is protected by law ( Lèse majesté ) from insult, with the charge carrying a maximum 15-year sentence. "He has written a book that slandered the king, the crown prince of Thailand and the monarchy," the judge ruled.

"He was found guilty under criminal law article 112 and the court has sentenced him to six years, but due to his confession, which is beneficial to the case, the sentence is reduced to three years," the judge explained. Nicolaides earlier confessed to having slandered 81-year-old King Bhumibol and his son Vajiralongkorn. "I respect the King of Thailand. I was aware there were obscure laws (about the monarchy) but I didn't think they would apply to me," he tearfully said. He was arrested and detained at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport on August 31 as he tried to leave the country on a routine trip. Nicolaides was unaware of an arrest warrant issued on March 17, since he was not officially notified of the preliminary investigation. Nicolaides had even sent copies of the published book to the Thai Ministry of Culture and Foreign Affairs , the national library and the Bureau of the Royal Household , for approval. In the decision, the Thai judge clarified that Nicolaides had placed the monarchy into disrepute, even obliquely, by his "reckless choice of words".

The judgment cited a passage about the novel's fictional prince which caused "dishonour" to the royals and suggested an "abuse of royal power." The fictional passage in question goes as follows: From King Rama to the Crown Prince, the nobility was renowned for their romantic entanglements and intrigues. The crown prince had many wives, 'major and minor', with a coterie of concubines for entertainment. One of his recent wives was exiled with her entire family, including a son they conceived together, for an undisclosed indiscretion. He subsequently remarried another woman, and fathered another child. It was rumoured that if the prince fell in love with one of his minor wives, and she betrayed him, she and her family would disappear with their name, familial lineage and all vestiges of their existence expunged forever. —Verisimilitude, Harry Nicolaides Nicolaides, who had worked in Thailand from 2003 to 2005 as a Chiang Rai university lecturer in hospitality and tourism, left the Bangkok court wearing a dark orange prison jumpsuit with his feet shackled. "This is an Alice-in-Wonderland experience.

I really believe that I am going to wake up and all of you will be gone. I would like to apologise. This can't be real. It feels like a bad dream," said Nicolaides. He felt "dreadful," adding, "I wish my family the best." Queen Sirikit of Thailand with Vladimir Putin in Kremlin, Moscow (July, 2007) His brother Forde Nicolaides said Harry is not appealing but will request a Thai royal pardon. "We're devastated. You might be able to hear my mother crying in the background. It's quite devastating for us. The whole case has been a massive emotional ordeal that has consumed our entire family. It's beyond belief," Forde was reported as saying. Nicolaides' family has attributed some blame to the Rudd government for its failure to intervene in the case. Forde criticized Foreign Minister Stephen Smith : "There is a huge expectation gap between what Australian citizens think the Australian government will do when they are in trouble overseas versus what they will do." Harry's father Socrates Nicolaides, 83, delivered an appeal letter to Mr. Rudd last week. "I said to him, as one father to another father, please Mr.

Prime Minister, I plead with you to do your utmost to do everything in your power to get Harry released," Mr. Nicolaides said. His wife Despina Nicolaides, 75, collapsed when she saw the video footage of her son. "He has just written a book," she said amid tears. Despina Nicolaides said on Wednesday she appealed to King Bhumibol for a royal pardon, but her family has not received any reply from the Thai government. "We don't know when really it will be okay for Harry to be released - they don't say anything," she said. "I'm worrying sick. I hope that they will help us too like they did the Swiss people," she added. According to Foreign Minister Smith, an Australian consular staff in Bangkok visited Nicolaides 25 times in prison. "We understand the anxiety that is being felt by Mr. Nicolaides and his family, however, he is subject to the legal and judicial processes of Thailand," the Smith's spokesman said. Moreover, Thai laws require a waiting period of 30 days from promulgation of the sentence before Nicolaides becomes eligible to apply for a Thai King's pardon. I feel persecuted, to be honest...

I want to be given a chance to apologise and explain. —--Harry Nicolaides Smith mentioned that he had forwarded the Federal Government's letter to Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya Monday for the Australian writer's pardon. "I raised Mr. Nicolaides' case with then Thai Foreign Minister Sompong when we met at APEC in November last year," Mr. Smith added. Independent Senator Nicholas (Nick) Xenophon has called on the Australian Federal Government to exert pressure on Thailand for the early repatriation of Nicolaides who has already served five months in jail. He has been refused bail four times. Xenophon is a South Australian barrister, anti-gambling campaigner and No Pokies , independent in the South Australian Legislative Council . "The imprisonment has taken a heavy toll on his physical and mental health. He has lost weight, he has been continually unwell for extended periods of time and obviously psychologically he has found the experience of being in prison in Thailand very challenging," his Australian lawyer, Mark Dean SC said. "Once that sentence is passed, if it's not a suspended sentence, then an application will be made for a royal pardon and we're hoping that that will be processed as quickly as possible," he added.

Acting Premier of Victoria , Justin Hulls said he has enquired about whether Victorian Government can provide assistance to Nicolaides. Hulls' legal team applied for a Thai royal pardon. His office has also communicated with lawyers of the case and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade . Nicholas (Nick) Xenophon . According to Reporters Without Borders (RWB, or Reporters Sans Frontières), a Paris-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press, the sentence imposed was "a serious violation of free expression." The group has expressed concern at the use of the Lèse majesté laws to suppress political discussion and dissenting voices. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Thai police filed a lèse majesté case against Dr. Giles Ji Ungpakorn , 55, a political science professor at Chulalongkorn University and Thailand's leading leftist political analyst. "The government, the prime minister, should order that they (the lese majeste laws) cease being used against people and that a whole review of the law should take place," Giles said.

The accusations against Giles stem from the publishing a 2007 anti-military coup book, 'A Coup for the Rich,' which can be downloaded free on his blog . The 144-page critique is an academic textbook dealing with the Thailand political crisis 2005-2006 , the bloodless coup of September 19, 2006 which overthrew former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra . Professor Ungpakorn's father Puey Ungpakorn was the Bank of Thailand 's governor for 12 years and also a Thammasat University dean, and whose brother Jon Ungpakorn is a former senator. Giles was duly informed of the charges at the central Pathum Wan Police Station. He was granted 20 days to file a sworn counter-statement to the police, who will then rule on whether to file formal charges in the courts for trial. "Lèse majesté is being used to destroy free speech," said Giles who denied the charges. "The lès majesté laws are there to protect the military and to protect governments that come to power through military action. They're not really about protecting the monarchy," he added.

The Thai people believe that King Bhumibol and the Thai Royal Family are semi-divine. Accordingly, insulting the monarchy is taken extremely seriously in Thailand. Justice Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga earlier vowed to impose tougher regulations to implement the laws. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva , however, announced last week that he was trying to "strike the balance between upholding the law and allowing freedom of expression." Pirapan has reported that more than 10,000 websites have similar criminal contents. Sulak Sivaraksa . The Thai government had already blocked about 4,000 websites, including 2,300 websites recently, for alleged violations of lèse majesté law. As of last week, more than 17 criminal cases of insulting the royal family were still pending. About 400 more websites await a court restraining order, according to Information and Communication (ICT) Minister Ranongruk Suwanchawee.

Lèse majesté cases have been filed against several people, including Chotisak On-soong, Jitra Kotchadej, Darunee Charnchoengsilpakul, Suwicha Thakhor, Sondhi Limthongkul , and social activists like Sulak Sivaraksa who were charged in the 1980s and 1990s. The King, however, has routinely granted pardons to most people jailed for lèse majesté. In March 2007, Swiss national Oliver Jufer was convicted of lèse majesté and sentenced to 10 years for spray-painting on several portraits of the king while drunk in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Jufer was pardoned by the king on April 12, 2007. In March 2008, Police Colonel Watanasak Mungkijakarndee filed a similar case against Jakrapob Penkhair for comments made in a Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCCT) event in August 2007.

In 2008 BBC south-east Asia correspondent Jonathan Head was accused of lèse majesté three times by Colonel Watanasak Mungkijakarndee. In the most recent case Watanasak filed new charges highlighting a conspiracy connecting Jonathan Head to Veera Musikapong at the FCCT. Canberra Thai Embassy Minister counselor, Saksee Phromyothi, on Wednesday defended the country's harsh lèse majesté, saying that, "under Thailand's constitution, the king was above politics and was prevented from publicly defending himself from personal attacks." Mr. Saksee explained that "99 per cent of foreigners convicted under this law get pardoned and then we deport them." Have an opinion on this story? Share it! Related news Man jailed for insulting Thai king freed - World news - Asia-Pacific | NBC News Man jailed for insulting Thai king freed Had written book that courts ruled 'dishonored' royal family Below: Advertise Pornchai Kittiwongsakul / AFP - Getty Images Australian Harry Nicolaides, shown sitting inside a court cell in Bangkok on Jan. 19, has been pardoned for insulting the Thai monarchy and freed.

updated 2/20/2009 8:49:26 PM ET 2009-02-21T01:49:26 + - MELBOURNE, Australia — An Australian author who was jailed in Thailand for defaming the country's monarchy in a novel that sold just seven copies was granted a royal pardon, his family said Saturday. Socrates Nicolaides told The Associated Press he found out Saturday morning that his son, Harry Nicolaides, had been granted a royal pardon and was on his way home to Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city. The family planned to take the 41-year-old straight to a hospital to visit his mother, who is recovering from a stroke, which Socrates Nicolaides blamed on the stress of the case. His lawyer, Mark Dean, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio the pardon was granted on Thursday night and Nicolaides was deported from Thailand at midnight Friday. There was no immediate comment from Thai officials. "The Australian Government and the Thai Government have been working together very closely on the resolution of Harry's case," Dean said, adding that steps had been take to expedite the case.

In January, Bangkok's Criminal Court sentenced Nicolaides to three years in prison for insulting the king and crown prince in a self-published 2005 book "Verisimilitude." The court said a passage about the book's fictional prince caused "dishonor" to the royal family and suggested an "abuse of royal power." End of 'six-month nightmare' Thailand is a constitutional monarchy but has severe lese majeste, or injury to majesty, laws, mandating a jail term of three to 15 years for "whoever defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen, the heir to the throne or the Regent." Harry Nicolaides | Political Prisoners in Thailand Political Prisoners in Thailand Harry Nicolaides An Australian author, English language teacher and some-time resident of Thailand, Harry Nicolaides was sentenced to six years in jail on 19 January 2009 (reduced to three years on pleading guilty) for defaming the crown prince in his 2005 novel, ‘Verisimilitude’. Read Nicolaides’ novel here. This scanned version of the book bears the stamp of the National Library of Thailand.

The BBC has reported that the book remains on the open shelves in that library. Only seven copies of the book were distributed. The Australian government was remarkably quiet on this case and, based on reports to PPT, has not responded to many of those who sent concerned letters regarding this case to the prime minister and minister for foreign affairs. The words in the book that are reported to have brought the charges are: “ From King Rama to the Crown Prince, the nobility was renowned for their romantic entanglements and intrigues. The Crown Prince had many wives “major and minor “with a coterie of concubines for entertainment. One of his recent wives was exiled with her entire family, including a son they conceived together, for an undisclosed indiscretion. He subsequently remarried with another woman and fathered another child.

It was rumoured that if the prince fell in love with one of his minor wives and she betrayed him, she and her family would disappear with their name, familial lineage and all vestiges of their existence expunged forever.” The BBC report already cited points out that the judge in the case took these words, from a fictional account, to refer to real figures, concluding that Nicolaides “… has written a book that slandered the king, the crown prince and Thailand and the monarchy.” The Times of London reports that three years is the minimum sentence for lèse-majesté. Nicolaides received a pardon on 18 February 2009, and was deported to Australia. There are numerous reports on this. The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 February 2009: “Jailed author back on Australian soil” , reports that Nicolaides thanked the Australian people for their support and the media for helping to get him released. Other stories appear in The Australian, 21 February 2009: “Author freed from Thai jail” and at CNN, 20 February 2009: “Author jailed for insulting Thai king freed” .

The ABC News, 21 February 2009: “Tearful reunion as Nicolaides returns to Melbourne” , also has the story of his arrival back in Australia. Nicolaides stated that he “was told to kneel before a picture of the Thai king and was granted a pardon just hours before his flight.” His lawyer claims that the “Australian Government and the Thai Government have been working together very closely on the resolution of Harry’s case,” adding that “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.” In a later report at ABC News, 21 February 2009: “Nicolaides praises Govt over prison release efforts” , Nicolaides states that he is “happy with the way the Australian Government handled his release.” He says that he remains angry about his ordeal: “I am angry, I am frustrated, I am perplexed,” he said. Interestingly, his interviews shown on video clips here and here suggest that Nicolaides was more concerned to express his gratitude to the Australian media and the Australian people for keeping pressure on the Australian government. This seems closer to earlier reports of a reluctant Australian government .

In the same report, Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith stated,”We believe that we did everything that we could.” Seemingly unaware of the similar cases in the past, the Australian minister said, “I welcome the fact that so soon after his pardon he has returned to his family and Australia.” He added, “I think it is a measure of the good relationship between Australia and Thailand that the pardon was granted by the King of Thailand on Wednesday, the paperwork was completed on Friday and less than a day later, with the assistance of the Thai authorities, he was returned to Australia.” According to Welt Online, 21 February 2009: “Australian author freed under Thai royal pardon” , the Australia’s foreign ministry “said Canberra appreciated the ‘expeditious handling of the pardon’ by the Thai authorities.” Despite this diplomatic pandering, the fact remains that the Nicolaides case took such an unusually long time to be concluded. Why was an unknown Australian kept in jail for so long for a short comment in a book that almost no one had read?

The BBC, 21 February 2009: “Thailand frees Australian writer” , carries a report and a brief video, where Nicolaides states that he hopes to go back to Thailand and that he hopes that “no other Australian has to go through the ordeal that I endured for the last five and a half months.” Al Jazerra carries a report, 21 February 2009: “ Thailand frees Australian writer” . The Bangkok Post, 21 February 2009: “King pardons jailed writer” , reproduces an AFP report on the release and The Nation also carries a report. Harry has now published one account of his incarceration (see The Monthly, below). Commentary on Harry’s case: The Monthly (April 2009: “The King & I: Life in a Bangkok Prison” ), an Australian magazine, has published an account by Harry on his arrest and time in jail. The link to the article is to a 1500 word preview of a 5,700 word essay.

Eureka Street, 25 February 2009: “Degrees of guilt in Nicolaides’ Thai insult case” Andrew Walker, from the Australian National University, comments on the Nicolaides case and broader rights issues in Thailand: Sydney Morning Herald, 24 January 2009: “Rights Abuse? You Wouldn’t Read About It” Nian Dong, a media student at Australia’s Melbourne University has made a case for Nicolaides being considered a political prisoner, writing in Melbourne’s The Age, 19 December 2008: “Shameful case of forgotten political prisoner” . C.J. Hinke of Freedom Against Censorship Thailand has a long commentary and an extensive list of links. See “Thailand’s latest political prisoner: Harry Nicolaides” A website was established calling for the release of Harry Nicolaides — visit the site here Bring Harry Home . News on Harry Nicolaides’ case: (14:43:49) : […] has provided a link to the Australian magazine The Monthly, which has published an account by Harry Nicolaides on his arrest and time in jail awaiting trial on lesé majesté charges.

The link to the article is […] 9 04 2009 (20:25:48) : […] deliberately misrepresents the Nicolaides case – see our page on Harry’s case. It is clear that Harry’s unwillingness to plead guilty was one of the reasons for being kept […] 15 06 2009 (03:48:58) : […] that he is opposed to any discussion of his sometimes tumultuous private life.

Think of the case of Harry Nicolaides, who was kept in prison longer than any foreigner that we can remember, and who commented on the […] 16 10 2009 (16:53:12) : […] the crown prince, who has made it clear that he doesn’t want his private life exposed (think Harry Nicolaides) suggests that Nat can expect severe treatment by the […] 16 12 2010 (13:20:38) : […] in 2008, Harry Nicolaides, an Australian, was arrested at Bangkok’s international airport and charged with lese […] 3 09 2011 (18:00:59) : […] the boat” strategy is the Australian Embassy during the imprisonment of Australian citizen Harry Nicolaides. In this case, the Harry’s family complained about the Australian government’s approach […] 4 08 2012 Privacy policy | More Newsletters AFP/Getty Images Australian Harry Nicolaides inside a holding cell while waiting for his trial at a court in Bangkok on January 19, 2009.

MELBOURNE , Australia — An Australian author who was jailed in Thailand for defaming the country's monarchy in a novel that sold just seven copies returned home Saturday, after he was granted a royal pardon. Harry Nicolaides , 41, exchanged a tearful greeting with his family at Melbourne's airport, and thanked the Australian people for their support. Nicolaides' father, Socrates Nicolaides, told The Associated Press the family planned to immediately visit a hospital where Harry's mother is recovering from a stroke, which Socrates blamed on the stress of the case. Harry Nicolaides told reporters he had been crying for eight hours. "I learned only a few minutes before my flight that my mother had suffered a stroke," he said. "A few hours before that I was informed I had a royal pardon ... A few hours before that I was climbing out of a sewerage tank that I fell into in the prison." His lawyer, Mark Dean , told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio: "The Australian Government and the Thai Government have been working together very closely on the resolution of Harry's case," Dean said, adding that steps had been take to expedite the case. Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdee confirmed the pardon had been granted.

"This is not the first time that a foreigner has been granted a royal pardon. It is within his majesty's power to do so," Thongpakdee said. In January, Bangkok's Criminal Court sentenced Nicolaides to three years in prison for insulting the king and crown prince in a self-published 2005 book "Verisimilitude." The court said a passage about the book's fictional prince caused "dishonor" to the royal family and suggested an "abuse of royal power." Thailand is a constitutional monarchy but has severe lese majeste laws, mandating a jail term of three to 15 years for "whoever defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen, the heir to the throne or the Regent." Until recently, prosecutions under the law were uncommon in a country where the 81-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej is almost universally revered. But questions about the monarchy have assumed a higher profile lately amid growing consideration about the eventual succession of Bhumibol, the world's longest-serving monarch and the only king most Thais have ever known. In January, police charged a prominent Thai political commentator with insulting the king in a 2007 book.

Ji Ungpakorn, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University — one of the country's leading universities — denied the charges and accused the government of increasingly using lese majeste laws to silence criticism. He fled the country earlier this month for England. Ji said he was being targeted for political reasons because his 2007 book, "A Coup for the Rich," criticized the military for launching a coup that ousted then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. In 2007, a Swiss man, apparently acting in a drunken frenzy, defaced images of Bhumibol and was given a 10-year prison sentence. It was the first conviction of a foreigner for lese majeste in at least a decade. The man was pardoned by the king after about a month behind bars. Nicolaides said he felt nauseous, bewildered and dazed, but that he never despaired while in jail. "I ran out of tears, but I never ran out of hope or love," he said.

Published at 3:26 AM EST on Feb 21, 2009 | Updated at 3:30 AM EST on Feb 21, 2009 Copyright Associated Press

Question: Australian novelist Harry Nicholaides was jailed in January 2009 for insulting the monarchy in which country?
Answer: Thailand