Harry Nicolaides
Encyclopedia
Harry Nicolaides is an Australia
n writer of Greek-Cypriot origin imprisoned in Thailand
under the Thai lèse majesté
law, for a passage in a 2005 novel of his deemed to defame the Thai monarchy. On 19 January 2009 he was sentenced to three years in prison. He was pardoned on 21 February, after having spent six months in a Thai prison.
. Nicolaides later also lived and worked in Saudi Arabia
, and wrote an article about the country as he perceived it, for The New Statesman
.
Wearing shackles and handcuffs on 19 January 2009, the day of the trial, Nicolaides told reporters that he would like to apologise and that he had "unqualified respect for the king of Thailand" and had not intended to insult him. He added "I was aware there were obscure laws (about the monarchy) but I didn't think they would apply to me."
He pleaded guilty and due to this confession a six year prison sentence was reduced to three years, the minimum sentence under the law.
He later described the harsh conditions in the Bangkok Remand Prison, relating that he had met the suspected Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout
and the Canadian child molester Christopher Neil
there.
Many Western media outlets, including CNN
, refused to publish the substance of the allegation for fear of reprisals against their staff.
Nicolaides says that he sent letters to the Royal Bureau of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Culture to get a legal opinion on the passage, but did not receive a reply.
commented in January 2009 that foreigners convicted under this law usually get pardoned and deported.
Nicolaides received a royal pardon and returned to Melbourne on 21 February 2009.
On his initial release he had been taken to the Australian embassy in Bangkok and given clean clothes prior to the flight home. Minutes before boarding the flight he learned his mother had suffered a stroke two weeks prior and had lost the ability to speak. "I'm angry and frustrated and perplexed at my treatment," Nicolaides said. "I'm tired and exhausted and I've got a mother to go and see who's lost the power of speech." Nicolaides plans to write a book about the ordeal.
, Heath Dollar, accused the author of intentionally including the passage knowing it would violate Thai law. This was done, according to Dollar, as a publicity stunt to attract attention and ensure Nicolaides' books would be published.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n writer of Greek-Cypriot origin imprisoned in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
under the Thai lèse majesté
Lèse majesté
Lese-majesty is the crime of violating majesty, an offence against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state.This behavior was first classified as a criminal offence against the dignity of the Roman republic in Ancient Rome...
law, for a passage in a 2005 novel of his deemed to defame the Thai monarchy. On 19 January 2009 he was sentenced to three years in prison. He was pardoned on 21 February, after having spent six months in a Thai prison.
Personal background
In 2002 Nicolaides had published Concierge Confidential, a collection of fictional short stories based on his experience of having worked for seven years as chief concierge at Melbourne's Rydges Hotel. He lived in Thailand from 2003 to 2005, working as a teacher in the northern Thai city Chiang RaiChiang Rai
-Demographics:Official Population count: According to the Thailand National Statistical Office, as of September 2010, Chiang Rai municipal district has a population of 199,699...
. Nicolaides later also lived and worked in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, and wrote an article about the country as he perceived it, for The New Statesman
The New Statesman
The New Statesman is an award-winning British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time...
.
The lèse majesté law
The Thai law, section 112, reads: "Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years."Imprisonment, trial, sentence
Nicolaides was arrested at the Bangkok airport on 31 August 2008 while preparing to board a plane to Australia, apparently unaware of a March arrest warrant.Wearing shackles and handcuffs on 19 January 2009, the day of the trial, Nicolaides told reporters that he would like to apologise and that he had "unqualified respect for the king of Thailand" and had not intended to insult him. He added "I was aware there were obscure laws (about the monarchy) but I didn't think they would apply to me."
He pleaded guilty and due to this confession a six year prison sentence was reduced to three years, the minimum sentence under the law.
He later described the harsh conditions in the Bangkok Remand Prison, relating that he had met the suspected Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout
Viktor Bout
Viktor Anatolyevich Bout is a convicted arms smuggler. A citizen of Russia, he was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and was extradited in 2010 to the United States to stand trial on terrorism charges after being accused of smuggling arms to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia to use against...
and the Canadian child molester Christopher Neil
Christopher Paul Neil
Christopher Paul Neil , also known as Mr. Swirl, or Swirl Face, or Vico , is a convicted child molester currently serving a 39-month-sentence in Thailand...
there.
Offending text
The passage in question was from Nicolaides' 2005 self-published novel, Verisimilitude. Is the truth, the truth? which sold seven copies. The book was described in a news release as "an uncompromising assault on the patrician values of the monarchy", and as "savage, ruthless and unforgiving" in revealing a society "obsessed with Western affluence and materialism." The paragraph which resulted in his imprisonment discusses the personal life of a fictional prince:- From King Rama to the Crown Prince, the nobility was renowned for their romantic entanglements and intrigues. The Crown Prince had many wives major and minor with a coterie of concubines for entertainment. One of his recent wives was exiled with her entire family, including a son they conceived together, for an undisclosed indiscretion. He subsequently remarried with another woman and fathered another child. It was rumoured that if the prince fell in love with one of his minor wives and she betrayed him, she and her family would disappear with their name, familial lineage and all vestiges of their existence expunged forever.
Many Western media outlets, including CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, refused to publish the substance of the allegation for fear of reprisals against their staff.
Nicolaides says that he sent letters to the Royal Bureau of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Culture to get a legal opinion on the passage, but did not receive a reply.
Pardon
Nicolaides' lawyers were pressing for a royal pardon, an effort supported by the Australian government. An official at the Thai Embassy in CanberraCanberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
commented in January 2009 that foreigners convicted under this law usually get pardoned and deported.
Nicolaides received a royal pardon and returned to Melbourne on 21 February 2009.
On his initial release he had been taken to the Australian embassy in Bangkok and given clean clothes prior to the flight home. Minutes before boarding the flight he learned his mother had suffered a stroke two weeks prior and had lost the ability to speak. "I'm angry and frustrated and perplexed at my treatment," Nicolaides said. "I'm tired and exhausted and I've got a mother to go and see who's lost the power of speech." Nicolaides plans to write a book about the ordeal.
Motive
Shortly after Nicolaides' release a former colleague at Mae Fah Luang UniversityMae Fah Luang University
Mae Fah Luang University, situated in the province of Chiang Rai in northern Thailand, is named after Her Royal Highness the Princess Mother , the beloved mother of the current king of Thailand. Mae Fah Luang was the name given to her by the local people in Chiang Rai. It is an autonomous public...
, Heath Dollar, accused the author of intentionally including the passage knowing it would violate Thai law. This was done, according to Dollar, as a publicity stunt to attract attention and ensure Nicolaides' books would be published.
External links
- Concierge confidential! / Harry Nicolaides in Australian library collections
- Media release about Harry Nicolaides and Verisimilitude, June 2005, reprinted in Pattaya Daily News, 3 September 2008
- Harry Nicolaides: Tells of Bangkok Prison - interview with Fran Kelly on ABC Radio National, 2 April 2009
- The King & I: Life in a Bangkok Prison - Harry Nicolaides writes for The MonthlyThe MonthlyThe Monthly is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer Morry Schwartz...
about his time in prison, April 2009