Disgraceful
BANGKOK, Thailand – A few lines in a novel that sold just seven copies have earned an Australian writer three years in a Thai prison.
The conviction of Harry Nicolaides yesterday for insulting the monarchy is one of a recent flurry of such cases, underlining Thailand’s sensitivity about how to safeguard the royal institution when 81-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej – the world’s longest-serving head of state – passes from the scene.
Nicolaides, 41, was sentenced for insulting the king and Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn in his self-published 2005 book Verisimilitude, which he has said sold seven copies.
The Thai monarchy is in fact getting more and more involved in politics, which makes its exemption from criticism even more deplorable.