Man sentenced to 3 years in jail insulting Thailand monarchy

An article written in the New York Times caught my attention for an international and national issue.

A novelist named Harry Nicolaides, 41, of Australia was sentenced to 3 years in prison for writing a book that insulted the Thai monarchy. The book, titled "Verisimilitude," was published in 2005 and sold 10 copies out of the 50 that were printed. Nicolaides had originally been sentenced to 6 years in jail, but his plea of "guilty" lowered his time.

The Thailand law states that a person may receive up to 15 years of prison who, "defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen, the heir to the throne or the regent." Unfortunately, the boundaries of the law are unclear and cases can be brought in by any citizen. Many cases are now pending and the Thailand government has closed over 2,000 Web sites that, in some way, shape or form, insult the Thai monarchy.

At the time of Nicolaides arrest, he had been an English teacher in Thailand. He was given no warning when an arrest warrant was issued.

Andrew Walker, another teacher in the Asian-Pacific program at Australian National University said, "I think Thailand is trying to send a message to international media, to writers, to bloggers, to people who are putting material on the Internet, that the royal family is out of bounds."

Cases of those who openly speak against the monarchy are derived from the concern of the eventual succession of the king, Buhmibol Adulyadej, who is 81. Although he does not have an official political role, he is a symbol of force and a peacemaker for his country.

I find this story an example of what is going on at both the national and international levels. In America, the issue would be, "is this against our right to freedom of speech?" Internationally speaking, it becomes more difficult in what you may or may not post on the Internet. As our world becomes more modernized, we begin to see the boundaries between countries blending together and the environment becomes less formal. There is a gray area that must be addressed. How much is too much? What is OK to say publicly, and what is not?