Harry Nicolaides' release from a Bangkok prison, and return to Melbourne last
Saturday brought to an end a harrowing six month ordeal both for Nicolaides and
his family.
He should never have been jailed in the first place. The law under
which he was charged, lèse-majesté, the crime of insulting the Thai monarchy,
breaches article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
which guarantees freedom of expression. Thailand is a state signatory to the
covenant.
While Nicolaides was pardoned, the law remains. On 20 January this year, the
day after Nicolaides was sentenced to three years imprisonment, Giles Ji Ungpakorn,
an associate professor at Chulalongkom University in Bangkok, and a contributor
to Asia Sentinel and New Statesman, was charged with the offence.
The
complaint against Ungpakorn relates to his book A Coup for the Rich, in which
he criticised the 2006 military coup which overthrew Thai democracy. He was given 20 days to respond to the charges, before Thai authorities
decided whether his case would be referred to the courts for prosecution.
He
could face between three and 15 years in prison if found guilty. Fearing the
consequences, Ungkaporn, a vocal critic of the military, fled to London in early
February.
International PEN, one of a number of human rights
groups that vigorously campaigned on Nicolaides' behalf, is concerned about the
growing number of Thai citizens being charged under this law. Anyone can file a
police complaint of lèse-majesté on the king's behalf. Unfortunately Thai cases do not receive a high level of attention. The Thai public is unable to
judge the merits of the offences because the press runs the risk of being
accused of repeating the crime by merely reporting it.
While the exact source of the accusation is yet to be determined, there is
little doubt that Nicolaides was a pawn in the machinations of Thai politics.
Members of the Thai military, police force and political elite appear to be
using the law so that they will be seen to be currying favour with the Thai monarchy, and as a
means of stifling legitimate discussion of the monarchy. The New York based
Committee to Protect Journalists has pointed out that Thailand's Ministry of
Information Communication and Technology closed down more than 2300 websites
last month for posting materials deemed offensive to the monarchy.
According to International PEN, Harry Nicolaides' case was unusual. He was, it
is believed, the first Australian writer to be imprisoned in another country because
of his writing. Most PEN cases concern writers imprisoned, harassed, threatened,
exiled or murdered for the peaceful pursuit of their craft