Australian writer jailed for insulting Thai Royal family

An Australian writer, Harry Nicolaides, was sentenced by Bangkok’s Criminal Court on Monday to three years in prison for insulting Thailand’s royal family in his novel. The court had sentenced Harry to six years behind bars but reduced the term because he had entered a guilty plea, the judge said.

Nicolaides is a 41-year-old writer from Melbourne and was charged with insulting Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej and the crown prince in his 2005 book “Verisimilitude.” A passage in the book that discussed the personal life of a fictional prince “suggested that there was abuse of royal power,” the presiding judge told the court.

Nicolaides was arrested Aug. 31 at Bangkok’s international airport as he was about to board a flight home, apparently unaware of a March arrest warrant issued in connection with his novel, according to rights groups. He was indicted in November and denied bail.

Shackled at the ankles and handcuffed, Nicolaides said he felt “dreadful” as guards escorted him out of the courtroom.

“I would like to apologize. This can’t be real. It feels like a bad dream,” a tearful Nicolaides told reporters earlier. He said he had “unqualified respect for the king of Thailand” and had not intended to insult him.

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.”