New Mandala

Harry Nicolaides has written an account of his time behind bars in Bangkok. It is published in The Monthly. The first 1500 words are available free to non-subscribers.  Here are the first three paragraphs:
On the night of 31 August 2008 my life took an unexpected turn. I had spent months preparing for an interview in [...]

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The Manningham Leader (details on this local paper are available here) has an an exclusive interview with Harry Nicolaides who was, last month, released from Thai prison.  New Mandala readers who have been living under a rock for the past half a year may not know that Harry was convicted of lese majeste, sentenced to [...]

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I have a short piece over at East Asia Forum on various lèse majesté cases.  Some readers may find it useful.

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“His Majesty the King is revered by Thais and admired by foreigners from afar because of his intrinsic goodness and dedication to improving the people’s livelihood, yet many foreign friends of Thailand are now casting doubt on the broad application of lese majeste.
Authorities may have intended to achieve deterrence from offending and disrespecting the revered [...]

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Over at Eureka Street there is a thought-provoking essay by Arnold Zable, the president of the Melbourne Centre of International PEN.  It picks up many of the themes that have swirled around Harry Nicolaides’ lèse-majesté case and puts them in the broader context of battles to defend writers’ rights worldwide.  It is well worth a look.

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Harry Nicolaides is home and free.  It is, I suppose, as good a time as any to start taking stock of what happened in his particularly high profile lèse majesté case.  Of course, others remain behind bars and sadly they are not garnering the same sort of attention.  Let’s hope that changes soon.
In the meantime, [...]

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“The guards are lazy, corrupt and self servicing and they beat people for no reason. I remember near the last day when we were eating they picked a poor Thai man and made him bend over and beat him with a heavy wooden pole across his back. When I asked some Iranian prisoners who spoke [...]

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New Mandala readers who have been following the case of Harry Nicolaides will want to read this reflection published in today’s The Sydney Morning Herald.  Penned by a former Mae Fah Laung University colleague, Heath Dollar, it discusses Harry’s desire “to create a sensation, a publicity stunt to land an author on the literary map”.  [...]

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Harry Nicolaides has been released from his Thai prison cell and is now on his way home.  Best wishes to him and his family from New Mandala.
UPDATE. Statement from Forde Nicolaides:
Some fantastic news! Harry was granted a Royal Pardon by his Majesty the King of Thailand on Wednesday afternoon Bangkok time. The Nicolaides family is [...]

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From the Sydney Morning Herald:
Harry Nicolaides, the Australian facing three years in jail for insulting the Thai monarchy, has been recommended for a royal pardon by Thai corrections department officials.  …
Thai corrections department officials said yesterday that a recommendation had been made for a royal pardon from King Bhumipol Adulyadej. But the complete documentation was [...]

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