20/1/2009
THE Doncaster parents of writer Harry Nicolaides have spoken of their shock after he was jailed last night for offending the Thai monarchy.
They told the Manningham Leader this morning they were "devastated".
Nicolaides has been sentenced to three years in a Thai jail for offending the country’s royal family.
The 41-year-old has been languishing in a Thai prison since August 31, when he was charged with lese-majesty - defamation of the Thai monarchy.
Nicolaides, a Chiang Mai-based university lecturer and freelance writer, was charged in relation to a paragraph in his 226-page fictional book, Verisimilitude, which referred to the personal life of an unnamed member of the Thai royal family and was deemed offensive.
The former East Doncaster High School student pleaded guilty to the charge at a Bangkok court hearing yesterday.
The judges sentenced Nicolaides to six years in prison, reduced to three because he pleaded guilty.
Nicolaides’s desperate family – elderly parents Despina and Socrates and brother Forde - are considering applying for a royal pardon.
Mrs Nicolaides has previously told the Manningham Leader about the squalid prison conditions her son describes in letters home.
Among the worst stories was how he watched his cell mate die after his calls for medical help were ignored.
The man’s body was not removed until the next morning.
Mrs Nicolaides said her son told of the constant stench of sewage from the communal toilet and daily fights between the 95 inmates who were "crammed’’ into one cell.
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