‘The Economist’ banned in Thailand

Thailand has strict laws against any kind of defamation to royal family and owing to this, the latest edition of UK-based current affairs magazine the Economist has been banned in Thailand which contains an article about an Australian writer, Harry Nicolaides, who was jailed for slandering 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.

The Economist sent an e-mail to its Asia subscribers stating: “This week our distributors in Thailand have decided not to deliver the Economist in light of our coverage relating to the Thai monarchy.”

Even the newly-installed Democrat Party government has said that protecting the royal family is a top priority. 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.