Royal Pardon for Australian Writer
An Australian man who was found guilty of violating Thailand’s strict lese majeste laws has been granted a royal pardon by the king of Thailand.
The case of Harry Nicolaides received a lot of media attention in Australia where diplomats took up his case following his arrest in August 2008 and his subsequent imprisonment. Last month, a Thai court sentenced Nicolaides to 3 years in jail. Channels of communication were opened between the relevant authorities in Canberra and Bangkok culminating in the granting of the royal pardon. Within hours of the pardon, Nicolaides was deported from Thailand. It isn’t the first time a royal pardon has been granted for a foreigner, but it should be noted that Thai nationals have also fallen foul of the lese majeste laws. Recently, the high-profile academic Giles Ungpakorn fled Thailand fearing arrest.
The new Thai government has recently blocked a number of websites deemed to be offensive to the monarchy and recent editions of the magazine The Economist have also been unavailable because of articles carried which were thought to be inappropriate for sale in Thailand.
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