Reporters Without Borders/Reporters sans frontières

21 February 2009

THAILAND
“Immense relief” after Harry Nicolaides is pardoned and flies home

Reporters Without Borders hails the release of Harry Nicolaides, who
flew home to Australia today after being granted a royal pardon on 19
February. The press freedom organisation calls for a rapid overhaul of
Thailand’s lese majeste law.

“Nicolaides should never have been arrested and sentenced to three
years in prison,” Reporters Without Borders said. “By according him a
pardon, the king has corrected a serious miscarriage of justice and a
violation of free expression. We call for an end to lese majeste
proceedings against Thai citizens such as university academic Giles
Ungpakorn and Internet user Suwicha Thakor.”

On his arrival today at Melbourne airport, a moved Nicolaides thanked
his fellow Australians for their support during the more than five
months in spent in a Bangkok prison. He was told he was being released
just a few hours before being put on a flight back to Australia. Thai
officials made him kneel before a photo of the king before freeing
him.

“I have been crying for eight hours as I learned only a few minutes
before my flight that my mother had suffered a stroke,” Nicolaides
told journalists, adding that he blamed his detention for his mother’s
condition.

Nicolaides’ brother sent Reporters Without Borders an email thanking
all those who supported the family’s efforts. “Harry will not make any
statements to the press for a while because he wants to be with his
family and to regain his health.”

Aged 41, Nicolaides was sentenced by the Bangkok criminal court on 19
January to three years in prison on a charge of lese majeste under
article 112 of the criminal code for referring in his 2005 novel
“Verisimilitude” to the way King Bhumipol’s son had treated one his
mistresses. He pleaded guilty at the trial and asked the court to be
lenient. Only 50 copies of the novel were ever printed.

Earlier this month, Reporters Without Borders issued a report on lese
majeste in Thailand (http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=30247)
and organised a cyber-demonstration to demand Nicolaides’ release.