BANGKOK, Jan 19 (TNA) - A Thai court on Monday handed down a three-year prison term to an Australian writer charged with lese majeste in his 2005 novel.
41-year-old Harry Nicolaides from Melbourne was sentenced to 6 years in jail which was reduced to 3 years as he had pleaded guilty of insulting the Thai Monarch and royal family members in his book Verisimilitude.
However, Mr. Nicolaides said he had no intention to insult His Majesty the King.
Mr. Nicolaides was a teacher in the northern province of Chiang Rai from 2003 to 2005. He was arrested on August 31, 2008 as he was leaving for his home country Australia at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
He was prosecuted and denied bail in last November.
Under Thai lese majeste law, a person who insults or defames the Thai Monarchy can face 3 to 15 years’ imprisonment. (TNA)
General News : Last Update : 20:52:54 19 January 2009 (GMT+7:00)
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