An Australian writer Harry Nicolaides, currently lecturing in English and Social Sciences at a Thai University, has been imprisoned in Thailand over a paragraph in his novel, Verisimilitude. The charge laid against him is of lese majeste (insulting the crown) and he has been denied bail by the Bangkok Criminal court because of the seriousness of the allegation and the risk that Nicolaides would flee the country. He has retracted the book and his lawyer has said he will personally apologise to the Thai monarchy.
Says a lot about free speech doesn’t it. The Akha Heritage Foundation has said on their website that "Thai authorities [have known] of the book since 2005 and received two copies from Harry for approval while he taught at the University. No objection was made by the government at the time and the book was also used in classroom teaching in a public school at Lampang."
If you’d like to support freedom of speech in Thailand you can sign this petition.
