US citizen held for Thai 'insult'

[Linne]

I think of a few followers of Islam and others who would like the blasphemy laws used a bit more.

Its hard to find a thai who does not have a picture of the royal family in their home/office/shop/factory. Is there a law enforcing this .????????

[ian1208]

Is it not true though that an opinion between two people (even in Thailand) is not considered lese majeste unless it is aired publicly?
So simply overhearing someone wouldn’t bring some criminal action.
I am, just guessing



edit; I have no idea why some of the above is in bold

[Tobias]

I am sure there are many laws in many countries around the world that we would consider pathetic/inappropriate/barbaric but when in Rome....

That I have no doubt, but we are not in Rome are we? Last time I looked, this was the Thailand-UK forum, a place where we can discuss and debate all things "Thai"

I would be interested to hear from those who are defending the archaic Thai Lèse Majesté law to offer any justification for it and why they support the imprisonment of those who fall victim to it.

[ddwjg]

ian1208. I think your guess is wrong. If the conversation is overheard in a public place. e.g. if a group of Thais report a conversation which included lese majeste chargable offences, they could report it to authorities, and charges could indeed follow. My wife is always warning me not to say anything too loud, (usually not in connection with the king, but in connection with the heir apparent, the prince).

I too don't agree with this archaic law, but I do respect 'the law'. I'm also not prepared to test the validity of my wife's advice, just on the off chance.

Dave.

[ian1208]

Dave, I was thinking about the op, when they were 'overheard' and simply someone saying they heard a conversation between two people would not actually break the law. Good job the technoligy for reading minds is not to advanced as I think there would be a lot of people in jail

Tobias; you are spot on! I fear though that just as other issues in LOS causes concern, we as visitors have to hold back.
There is healthy debate here but I have noticed a quite marked 'sef-imposed' policy of not saying to much about the king on a negative side.
ian1208

[Linne]

criticising the royals....................could we have a discussion about Prince Charles alleged bisexuality ?

maybe not because I think there is an injunction preventing this ??????????

[Tobias]

criticising the royals....................could we have a discussion about Prince Charles alleged bisexuality ...

Feel free to criticise the British Royal family (justified or not), it's not illegal here. However, any implied or actual criticism posted of or about the Thai Royal family (justified or not) would have to be removed by the moderators because it is illegal in Thailand.

...I think there is an injunction preventing this ??????????

I presume you are being capricious or fallacious in this comment. I am not aware of any injunction in respect to any member of the British Royal family - any injunction in such circumstances would likely be related to a libel or breach of privacy action in the High Court. Anyone could apply to the High Court in the UK for similar protection, not just the Royals. Nothing at all like the Lèse Majesté laws of Thailand.

[Wolfy]

Capricious = impulsive and unpredictable
fallacious = Containing or based on a fallacy: a fallacious assumption. 2. Tending to mislead; deceptive.

[Harvey at home]

[QUOTE=Linne;146684]

"I think "

Dont think that there is a law against that........Yet!

[N Barton]

I would be interested to hear from those who are defending the archaic Thai Lèse Majesté law to offer any justification for it and why they support the imprisonment of those who fall victim to it.

Don't think it is our position to justify or defend, or indeed refer to it is archaic. It is a well known law of Thailand and therefore should be adhered to.

[T-UK]

Thai-born US citizen Joe Gordon pleads guilty in Thailand to charges of insulting the monarchy, after posting a link to a banned biography.

Read full article ...

(This post was generated automatically by Thailand-UK.com from the BBC News Asia-Pacific RSS Feed)

[Linne]

Capricious = impulsive and unpredictable
fallacious = Containing or based on a fallacy: a fallacious assumption. 2. Tending to mislead; deceptive.

Actually I think he is accusing me of telling porkies..............if memory serves me right the injunction was lifted. The point is that those in high places don,t like being criticised. To me the head of state deserves a bit of reverence and respect. I will be in BKK on the 5/12 and the sea of pink shirts and the activities around democracy monument tells me that many regard criticism as off the menu. Jingoism it might be, but its not my country.

[Tobias]

... It is a well known law of Thailand and therefore should be adhered to.

Only a fool would ignore the law, no one is suggesting otherwise. It doesn't make the law right, appropriate .... or necessary!

[Harvey at home]

"Only a fool would ignore the law"

Or a person with strong convictions!

Our own history is full of accounts of those who have had the courage to go against "bad and unjust laws"

----------

Don't think it is our position to justify or defend, or indeed refer to it is archaic. It is a well known law of Thailand and therefore should be adhered to.

Mugabe has some similar laws (I think)

[Tobias]

Quite right Harvey, although the likelihood of spending so much time in a Thai prison might ease the need to air those convictions!

[Harvey at home]

I suppose that to have a strong conviction within any area of, shall we say that, that is not right or just in our opinion first requires a "vested interest"

The British generally seem more concerned with "Animal rights" much more than Human rights but then again we the British are also a "Brain washed" society being led more by those who have little altruistic intent other than to feather there own nests.

Before we condemn those in Thailand shouldn't we first look within our own backyard!

[Tobias]

I suppose that to have a strong conviction within any area of, shall we say that, that is not right or just in our opinion first requires a "vested interest"

The British generally seem more concerned with "Animal rights" much more than Human rights but then again we the British are also a "Brain washed" society being led more by those who have little altruistic intent other than to feather there own nests...

No argument from me on those points.

I suppose I should also say that I wouldn't break the Lèse Majesté law for the simple fact I have no cause to.

[Harvey at home]

Whilst always wanting to live what ever little time I have left in a sunny clime twixt sea and sand, combined with nice smiling respectful people and 12x24 hours of potential golf ball chasing I will never forget what the UK has given me.

Initially I suffered from the "TRS" aka Thailand rapture syndrome.

The early symptons of this malady gives one an irresistible lemming like approach to getting over to the LOS ASAP and at any cost.

This is usually accompanied by a complete loss of logic, common sense or planning whilst in the middle of a euphoric and sensuous feeling of ecstasy associated with losing ones heart to a beautiful Asian lady whose feminine qualities are unobtainable anywhere else in the world.

However in the cold light of day those who have made the leap may well have at a later time thought that their decisions to leave the UK could have been tempered with some discussion on the lines of this thread and the fact that whilst being a temporary customer in LOS with no "Title" to be anything other than an Alien, they cannot speak their minds or give their opinions without not only hurting someones feelings but finishing up in jail.

This may well make them think that the good old UK whilst becoming just a dumping ground for Europe is not too/was bad place to live.

The very fact that a poster on this thread can and did make a remark about the sexuality of Price Charles tells me more about the real freedom that we enjoy and that whilst indeed the UK is having a bad time of it at the moment and going through a really bad time especially with the quality of younger people, it truly is a real democracy and not a trumped up one where one can go to jail for 15 years for simply airing their opinions!

[Linne]

I wonder how far I would have to go to find a thai person here in the UK who would criticise the head of state.

Nice remarks harv ..............not sure about the golf.

[-Keith-]

... and one of the most pathetic laws in existence. There is no place for such laws in modern society.

Nothing at all like the Lese Modeste Law we have on here thank god