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Thai trial over 'insults' to king Swiss man admits Thai king insult
(about 4 hours later)
A 57-year-old Swiss man has gone on trial in Thailand on charges of insulting the king after allegedly defacing portraits of the monarch. A 57-year-old Swiss man has pleaded guilty in a court in Thailand to charges of insulting the king.
If found guilty, Oliver Jufer faces up to 75 years in prison - 15 years on each of five charges. Oliver Jufer was arrested last December after defacing several portraits of the monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who has been on the throne for 60 years.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who has been on the throne for 60 years, is revered in Thailand. In court, Jufer pleaded guilty to five charges under Thailand's draconian lese majeste law.
He and other members of the royal family are protected by lese-majeste laws barring any criticism of them. A verdict is expected later this month. The maximum sentence he could face is 75 years in jail.
This case throws a rare spotlight on Thailand's draconian laws against any criticism of the monarchy. Oliver Jufer's lawyer says the minimum sentence he can get is seven-and-a-half years.
Oliver Jufer was arrested last December in Chiang Mai after allegedly defacing several portraits of King Bhumibol with black paint. Carefully managed
King Bhumibol Adulyadej is venerated in Thailand almost as a living god but the laws protecting his and the rest of the royal family's reputations make it impossible for any critical voices to be heard, or for any discussion of the monarchy's future to take place. This case throws a rare spotlight on the strict lese-majeste laws in Thailand forbidding any criticism of the monarchy.
The king is nearly 80 years old and privately many Thais worry about the capabilities of his successor. The king is widely revered after 60 years on the throne
No challenge At one point the prosecutor tried to get the media to leave, saying the case had been postponed.
King Bhumibol himself appeared to condemn the law in a recent birthday speech, saying it was wrong to put him above criticism. "We don't want the Thai people to know about this case," he said.
The image of the monarchy is very carefully managed, with local media only allowed to lavish praise on the king.
The popular reverence for him is genuine, but the draconian laws deter most Thais from even discussing the monarchy.
The king himself appeared to question this in a recent speech when he said it was wrong to put him above criticism.
"I am not afraid if the criticism concerns what I do wrong, because then I know," he said."I am not afraid if the criticism concerns what I do wrong, because then I know," he said.
"If you say the king cannot be criticised, it means that the king is not human.""If you say the king cannot be criticised, it means that the king is not human."
But no one else here seems willing to challenge the current legislation. But without any public debate there seems no possibility of amending the law, which allows any Thai citizen to bring a charge against anyone else for insulting the king.
The lese-majeste law allows any Thai citizen to bring charges of insulting the monarchy. Members of the royal family never initiate proceedings. A handful of other foreigners have faced similar charges in the past. Most have eventually been allowed to leave the country.
It was used several times last year as supporters and opponents of then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra attempted to discredit each other.
Most of those cases have since been dropped by the police.