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-- Swiss gets ten years for insulting Thai king
Swiss gets ten years for insulting Thai king
http://www.nzz.ch/2007/03/29/eng/article7666959.html
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A court in Thailand has sentenced a Swiss man to ten years in prison for defacing images of King Bhumibol. The 57-year-old had faced a maximum of 75 years imprisonment under the country's tough l�se:majest� laws. The resident of Thailand was sentenced to 20 years in jail, but the judge halved the sentence in recognition of the fact he had pleaded guilty to the five counts of l�se majest�. L�se majest� ? the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state ? carries a penalty of three to 15 years in jail in Thailand. This would have meant a maximum penality of 75 years for the five charges. The Swiss was arrested in December in the northern city of Chiang Mai, where he has lived for ten years, after black paint was sprayed on five portraits of the 79-yearo-ld king, the world's longest reigning monarch. Police reports said the Swiss was drunk when the portraits were defaced on December 5, the king's birthday and a national holiday. The Swiss embassy in Thailand reacted with tempered criticism to the news. "We respect the Thai justice system," Jacques Lauer, deputy chief of mission at the embassy in Bangkok told the Associated Press, but added that it was a "tough" verdict. No intervention A Swiss foreign ministry spokesman was quoted as saying the authorities in Bern would not intervene. "It is not the practice of the Swiss government to intervene with the legal authorities when the procedure conforms to basic legal principles," said spokesman Jean Philippe Jeannerat, adding that Bern would wait until the proceedings had ended. "Our compatriot was arrested on the basis of a clearly established legislation. He knows why he was arrested, he benefited from a counsel for the defence and he has the possibility to appeal," he added. Jeannerat said the Swiss man received consular assistance during his trial. There was an accord between Switzerland and Thailand that allowed citizens to carry out their sentences in their countries of origin, but the crime in question was not covered by this, said Jeannerat. He said the Swiss man had a month to appeal against his sentence. Tough law Other foreigners have fallen foul of the law occasionally, but jail terms are rare. In 1994 a French businessman was arrested for insulting the monarchy during a Thai Airways flight from London with two members of the royal family on board. He was later acquitted. King Bhumibol, who celebrated 60 years on the throne in June 2006, is revered as a champion of the poor and a pillar of stability during turbulent periods in Thailand's coup prone history. Portraits of the king and queen adorn buildings across the country. Since his diamond jubilee, many Thais have taken to wearing yellow shirts, especially on Mondays, the colour associated with Monday, the day of his birth. Legal experts have argued that it may be time to reform the l�se majest� law, which they say is often abused during times of political turmoil. |
So what? You are in a different country respect their laws like you would back at home. And than you have nothing to worry about.
that law sux. thailand should just stick to chicks with dicks
Seriously metal, how big of a tool are you??? This is 10 years of a person's life! Not for terrorism, not for threatening anyone, but all he did here was have fun with pictures of the king.
It's funny (well actually sad) that underaged prostitution is widespread in Thailand, and yet what do they jail people for? Not for being pedophiles, or for selling their daughters as prostitues, no they jail you for insulting the stupid king.
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| Originally posted by metalgearsolid So what? You are in a different country respect their laws like you would back at home. And than you have nothing to worry about. |
what happened to the coup?
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| Originally posted by Q5echo how are you supposed to know your gonna get 10 frikken years in prison for that though? i'm sure we all do illegal shit all the time, but we don't not jaywalk for fear of going to Federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison for it. |
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| Originally posted by mcleod Have you ever been to Thailand? If you had been, then you would know that it is very common knowledge (and pretty apparent as soon as you land in the country) the Thai people worship their king, and rightly so. Edit: The monarch is also protected by law from criticism - Thai citizens are punished in a harsher manner than foreigners. This is taken very seriously. |
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| Originally posted by CHRles Seriously metal, how big of a tool are you??? This is 10 years of a person's life! Not for terrorism, not for threatening anyone, but all he did here was have fun with pictures of the king. It's funny (well actually sad) that underaged prostitution is widespread in Thailand, and yet what do they jail people for? Not for being pedophiles, or for selling their daughters as prostitues, no they jail you for insulting the stupid king. |
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