Man pardoned for insulting Thai king (News)

Ok,

Why does the King pardoned this Troll? That will set example for
others to insult his majesty again in the future. The law is he
should beheaded.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070412/ap_on_re_as/thailand_king
By SUTIN WANNABOVORN, Associated Press Writer
Thu Apr 12, 10:26 AM ET

The Thai king has pardoned a Swiss man who was given a 10-year
sentence for spray-painting over images of the revered monarch, but
the longtime Thailand resident has been ordered to leave the country,
police said Thursday.

Oliver Rudolf Jufer, who last month became the first foreigner
convicted in at least a decade under strict Thai laws protecting the
monarchy, was expected to be deported back to Switzerland later in the
day, said police Col. Sangob Sanudon, the chief of Chiang Mai's
immigration office.

Police and prison officials in the northern city of Chiang Mai
confirmed Jufer had been transferred Wednesday to a police station in
Chiang Mai ahead of his deportation. They said he was expected to fly
to Bangkok and then on to Switzerland.

"The king in his kindness has granted him a pardon and he has been
transferred from prison and is in the process of being deported from
the country," Chiang Mai police Col. Prachuab Wongsuk told The
Associated Press.

The Swiss Embassy confirmed that Jufer would be deported but refused
to say exactly when he would be flown to Switzerland.

"Switzerland appreciates very much the gesture of the Thai
authorities," said Daniel Derzic, a counselor at the embassy. "We are
cooperating closely with the Thai authorities and Mr. Jufer will
travel back to Switzerland as soon as possible."

Jufer was caught by surveillance cameras on Dec. 5 spray-painting
black paint over five outdoor posters of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in
Chiang Mai, where he lived.

Bhumibol, the world's longest serving monarch who is greatly loved by
Thais and regarded by some as semi-divine, is protected from reproach
by strict laws that forbid any criticism of the monarchy.

Jufer, who lived in Thailand for 10 years, pleaded guilty in March to
five counts of lese majeste, or insulting the monarchy. He had faced a
maximum of 75 years in prison.

According to court testimony, Jufer had been out drinking with a
friend and drove his motorcycle home to pick up a can of spray-paint,
which he had bought to paint his dog house.

He drove up to a municipal office where a large poster of the king was
hung outside, and climbed a ladder to spray paint over the image. He
then defaced four other posters near his home, according to the
testimony.

The vandalism coincided with Bhumibol's 79th birthday, which was
celebrated across Thailand with fireworks and prayers.

Millions of portraits of the king were hung late last year around
Thailand to honor his birthday. Many Thais wear bright yellow shirts
every Monday, the color that in Buddhist tradition represents the day
of the week on which Bhumibol was born.

His case cast a rare spotlight on Thailand's strict lese majeste laws,
which have remained virtually unchanged since the creation of the
country's first criminal code in 1908, despite the overthrow of an
absolute monarchy in 1932.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Why Thailands king is so revered
    ... who pleaded guilty to insulting the Thai king by ... Thailand is not the only state to prosecute those who offend their head of state ... Laws protecting the "dignity" of a monarch have been borrowed by many modern ... I respect the Thai ...
    (soc.culture.thai)
  • Economist on messy Thai King
    ... subject of its monarchy. ... their beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej. ... Many Thais will squirm at what follows, ... myth that the king rarely intervenes in politics and then only on the side ...
    (soc.culture.singapore)
  • King Norodom Sihamoni has set a foundation for the long-term survival of the monarchy in Cambodi
    ... A King to unite the country gives the monarchy life after ... King Norodom Sihamoni has set a foundation for the long-term survival ... departure from the Cambodian political stage, ... royalty from active politics, but advancing it as a symbol of national ...
    (soc.culture.cambodia)
  • Re: Palestine in Islamic History
    ... > Mesopotamian models of monarchy, ... > Canaanites, Philistines, Moabites, and Ammonites, the Hebrew tribes ... > began agitating for a king. ... > Samuel, Yahweh immediately chooses another king, David. ...
    (uk.religion.islam)
  • Re: In the News: Evolution is not up for debate
    ... >>> the king was subject to laws was already an accepted view. ... > die before that loan can be repaid, the debt shall not bear interest ... And if any one die indebted to the Jews, ...
    (talk.origins)