Stories tagged with majeste
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Aussie arrested for insulting the monarchy
In an interesting example of Thailand’s extreme protection of its monarchy, an Australian author was arrested on charges of lese-majeste for a fictional novel he published in 2005. The man knew nothing of the warrant for his arrest until he tried to board a flight from Bangkok to Australia after one of his frequent visits to the kingdom on holiday.
The Australian embassy confirmed that Harry Nicolaides, a 41 year-old writer from Melbourne, was facing the lese-majeste charge for “an arrest warrant [which] was issued in March for a book he wrote in 2005 deemed defamatory to the crown prince,” Police Lieutenant-Colonel Boonlert Kalayanamit told Reuters.
The novel under scrutiny, “Verisimilitude," was described on a Phuket website in June 2005 as a "trenchant commentary on the political and social life of contemporary Thailand.” Nicolaides was a frequent visitor to Thailand, and even lived here for a period of time working as a journalist and English teacher.
Throughout these three years the Thai authorities failed to notice the novel until June, when the warrant was issued. This serious crime can carry a 15-year stint in Thai prison. Nicolaides is currently interred at a remand prison until the investigation can make further progress.
Posted by: Andrew on 06 Sep 2008, 16:16