Thailand Jails Author for Lèse-Majesté
Australian English teacher and author Harry Nicolaides, 41, has been sentenced to three years in jail for lèse-majesté, or insulting the royal family of Thailand. Thailand has the strictest lèse-majesté laws on the books, and Harry Nicolaides case is no exception. His book Verisimilitude was self-published and sold fewer than 12 copies. It is no longer in print.
According to the presiding judge, the book illegally concluded that there was abuse of power in the Royal family. Mr. Nicolaides has expressed regret and shock “I would like to apologize…this can’t be real. It feels like a bad dream.”