An Australian born man has been charged with criticizing Thailand’s royal family – a major crime in the southeast Asian country.
Harry Nicolaides, an Australian expat who lived in Thailand as an English teacher for five years, was boarding a plane that was to take him back to Melbourne when he was arrested. 
His charges stem from a book Nicolaides wrote, the novel Verisimilitude, in 2005. In it, Nicolaides made references to rumours about the “romantic entanglements and intrigues” of the family of the Thai king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, and particularly his son, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Defaming the King could put Nicolaides in prison for 15 years.
In an interview with the UK’s newpaper, The Times yesterday, Nicolaides says he would most want to apologize to the royal family.
“I want to immediately apologise to the Royal Family for my reckless choice of words. I want to write a letter of apology, with the greatest humility.”
Nicolaides says he has been suffering seizures and a fever since entering Bangkok’s Remand Prison, where he shares a cell with nearly one hundred men. At the same time, Nicolaides has swollen lymph glands, chest pains, constipation and stomach cramps and has trouble eating. He is fearing he could contract tuberculosis because it is rumored that one of the inmates has it.
Nicolaides also says he is felt suicidal during his first night in prison. He also is intimidated by some of the men he is imprisoned with because of his comments about the Thai king.
Nicolaides is distressed that his imprisonment could last 84 days before he can be released on remand. Bail of 500,000 baht ($17,820) raised by his girlfriend and her friends has been refused.
The organization, Reporters Without Borders, is keeping an eye on this case.
“Nicolaides is aware of the limits on criticism in Thailand. His novel never intended to threaten or defame the royal family,” the group said. “We call on the authorities to drop the charges against him and to release him.”
Although Thailand has a constitutional monarchy – where the sovereign is merely a figurehead – the crime of criticizing the institution and its members is still a major one.
Actual prosecutions are relatively rare — usually a handful each year — not surprising in a country where the 80-year-old king is almost universally revered as a selfless and hardworking benefactor of the people.
The severity of the laws was highlighted around the world last year when a Swiss man, apparently acting in a drunken frenzy, was found guilty and given a 10-year prison sentence for defacing images of the revered monarch. He was pardoned by the king after serving about a month behind bars.
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