Man sentenced to 2.5 years prison for insulting Thai monarchy
Thai-born American is sentenced to two and a half years in prison for posting a link on his blog to an unauthorised biography of Thailand’s king.
Joe Wichaicommart Gordon has been detained without bail since being arrested in May for insulting the monarchy.
A Thai-born American was sentenced by a Thai criminal court for two and a half years in prison after being charged with insulting the monarchy.
Insulting the monarchy by way of writing and posting articles can results in a 20 year prison sentence since the king is highly revered in the Buddhist country.
Lerpong Wichaicommart, or Joe W. Gordon as he is known in the United States, pleaded guilty to the charges while cooperating during the investigation.
The Thai-born American had returned to Thailand in 2010 after 30 years in the U.S. and was arrested in May for posting a link to an unauthorised biography of the Thai king on his blog.
Gordon was given a lenient sentence for assisting according to his lawyer, Anon Rumpa, who said he would also be filing for a royal pardon.
Gordon, 54, said he was an American, not a Thai citizen and had rights to comment freely.
Violating majesty, or committing an offence against the royal family through insult or threat, is heavily cracked down upon in Thailand where lese majeste laws are among the harshest worldwide.
