Aussie Jailed for Thai Insult 

An Australian novelist was jailed for three years by a Bangkok court on Monday, the latest in a growing number of Thais and foreigners prosecuted for the crime of “insulting” the family of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Harry Nicolaides, a 41-year old teacher and part time writer was convicted on the basis of a 103 word paragraph about the alleged sexual peccadilloes of the royal family, particularly Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn.

He could have received a sentence of as much as twelve years and his decision to reverse an earlier plea of not guilty persuaded the judge to hand down the minimum sentence possible for the crime of l?se-majest?, or insulting the monarchy.

“He has written a book that slandered the king, the crown prince of Thailand and the monarchy,” the judge told the court.

Mr Nicolaides appeared emaciated and emotional as he was led into court in orange prison overalls and leg irons.

“This is an Alice in Wonderland experience,” he told reporters before the beginning of proceedings. “I really believe that I am going to wake up and all of you will be gone... I was aware that an obscure law existed, but I was not aware it would apply to me.”

His offence was to publish a novel entitled Verisimilitude in 2005, containing references to rumours about the “romantic entanglements and intrigues” of the Crown Prince. A few dozen copies were printed and only a few of these sold. But in August last year, he was arrested as he attempted to fly to Australia after several months teaching English at a university in the northern city of Chiang Mai.

He joins a list of people, including several foreigners, to have been prosecuted for l?se-majest?. The present law was enacted in the 1950s but has never been invoked by members of the royal family themselves.

Instead, individual Thai citizens are empowered to bring charges against others. In the past few years, it has frequently been used by rival politicians who have attacked one another with mutual accusations of disloyalty to the monarchy.

The election of Abhisit Vejjajiva, the British-educated leader of the once liberal Democrat Party, as prime minister appears to have increased the likelihood of future prosecutions. Earlier this month, the justice minister, Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, promised to strengthen laws protecting the monarchy.

His government has blocked some 2,300 websites said to be critical of the monarchy and last week a man named Suwicha Thakhor was arrested for allegedly posting insulting comments on a website.

Others under investigation include Ji Ungpakorn, a professor of politics at Bangkok’s prestigious Chulalongkorn University and the BBC’s respected south-east Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head. Among the complaints made against him is the fact that a photograph of King Bhumibol appeared below that of a Thai politician on a page on the BBC website - rather than in the position of honour, at the top of the page.

In 2007, Boonsong Chaisingkananont, a professor of philosophy at a Bangkok university, found himself under investigation for l?se-majest? after setting the following examination question for his first year students: “Is the monarchy necessary for Thai society? Discuss.”

A few months earlier a Swiss man received a ten year prison sentence for drunkenly defacing posters of the king - in an encouraging precedent for Mr Nicolaides, he was pardoned after a few months and promptly deported.

Ironically, the only person with the nerve to question the l?se-majest? laws has been His Majesty himself. “When you say the King can do no wrong, it is wrong - we should not say that,” he said.

“Actually I must also be criticized. I am not afraid if the criticism concerns what I do wrong, because then I know. Because if you say the king cannot be criticized, it means that the king is not human.”

He added: “Foreign countries see Thailand as a country where people cannot criticize the king, otherwise they will go to jail. This puts the king in trouble... and I have to pardon them... Actually, the king has never told anyone to send them to jail.”

Disrespect 

Thailand's drastic use of l?se-majest? laws is damaging the monarchy and freedom

Respect is one thing. It is not only Thais who revere King Bhumibol, the 81-year-old monarch who has reigned for more than 60 years and is the world's longest-serving head of state; many foreigners also admire the way he has, usually discreetly, exercised a moderating influence to stabilise Thailand's turbulent politics. But the country's laws on l?se-majest? and the draconian way in which they are presently applied elevate respect to an unhealthy and undemocratic cult of personality. And the three-year jail sentence passed yesterday on an Australian who referred, glancingly but unflatteringly, to the Crown Prince in a book that sold a total of seven copies is a grotesque abuse of the law and the institution of constitutional monarchy.

King Bhumibol's popularity is based in large part on his self-restraint. But in recent years politicians have tried to appropriate his authority and presumed views to undermine their opponents. The military coup against Thaksin Shinawatra was said to have royal backing; and those who led the noisy campaign against the ousted Prime Minister's party and successors smeared their opponents as anti-monarchists. Willy-nilly, the King has been drawn into the intrigues. Little wonder that criticism is rising and speculation on the succession taking on a hostile tinge.

The response has been a drastic invocation of l?se-majest?, the suppression of about 2,300 websites and an almost paranoid reaction to all discussion, even by foreign journalists, of the King's role. This does Thailand no good at all. It will inevitably colour judgment on the King's record. It is the greatest disrespect to an institution that has upheld Thais' freedom for two generations.

The Times January 20, 2009

Man who insulted King is freed

CHIANG MAI Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej last night freed a Swiss tourist who was jailed for ten years for insulting him (Andrew Drummond writes).

Oliver Jufer, 57, from Zurich, Switzerland, was released from Chiang Mai prison in northern Thailand two weeks after being sentenced.

Mr Jufer defaced posters of the King with black spray paint after getting drunk on December 5 last year, the 79-yr-old monarch’s birthday.

Mr Jufer could have faced up to 75 years in jail. His sentence was reduced after he signed an apology.

Ten years in jail for insulting the King

A Swiss man was jailed for ten years yesterday for insulting the King of Thailand by spraying posters of the monarch with black paint.

Oliver Jufer, 57, declined the possibility of a suspended sentence by doing community service, telling probation officers: “I’d rather go home to Switzerland.”

He was sentenced to ten years on five counts of l?se majest? by the court in the northern capital of Chiang Mai. Judge Phitsanu Tanbukalee said: “These are very serious charges but I have halved the sentence because the defendant pleaded guilty.”

Switzerland said that it would not seek Jufer’s release yesterday. “We note that the Thai legislation on the basis of which our compatriot was tried is applied with great rigour,” said Jean Philippe Jeannerat, a spokesman for the Swiss Foreign Ministry.

Jufer, from Zurich, was arrested in Chiang Mai on December 5, when Thais were celebrating the 79th birthday of their revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The bars in the city were closed out of respect for the world’s longest-reigning monarch and Jufer was angry that he could not buy a beer. The court heard that he bought black spray paint and defaced five images of the King Jufer sought to persuade the court that he was mentally disturbed but three pyschiatrists who examined him said that he was of sound mind.

Thai police said that he confessed quickly to the crime, saying that he had drunk 12 cans of beer at home.

Jufer was interviewed by probation and welfare staff to see whether he was willing to do community service, perhaps in one of the many royal projects helping hill-tribe people in northern Thailand. The former engineer and Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealer replied: “I don’t want to work. I’d rather go home to Switzerland.”

After the sentence was handed down Jufer, who retired to Thailand on a SwFr3,200 (?1,400) monthly disability pension, said: “Its rather high isn’t it? Do you think they will reduce it?

He was led from court in chains and taken to Chiang Mai jail, where he he will share a cell with six foreigners. His case has cast a spotlight on the Thai law of l?se majest?. Less than 150 years ago the country’s monarch was treated as a deity and even to look upon the face of the King was punishable by death.

More recently it has been used by politicians against each other but King Bhumibol Adulyadej said last year that he should be subject to criticism, which he welcomed because he was human.

Jufer’s arrest was barely mentioned by Thai newspapers out of respect for the King.

The Times March 20, 2007