To the immense relief of all those of us who cared about the plight of Australian author Harry Nicolaides, The ABC has reported that he has been freed from a Thai prison and is on his way home to Australia. I will not dignify these shameful proceedings by celebrating his ‘royal pardon’ because he should never have been charged, convicted or sentenced in the first place.
I have never read Mr Nicolaides’ book Verisimilitude, nor the seven or eight lines in it which were apparently the subject of royal outrage, but I will always defend his right to write it. Others who value the fundamental human right of having ‘freedom to write, freedom to read’ may consider joining PEN Melbourne, PEN Sydney, or PEN International. These organisations campaign on behalf of persecuted journalists, authors and writers of all kinds, and supports them so that they know they are not alone.
ANZ LitLovers congratulates Mr Nicolaides’ lawyer, Mark Dean, and the Department of Foreign Affairs for their behind-the-scenes efforts to resolve this matter, and recommends that anyone travelling to Thailand read carefully the section relating to local laws on the DFAT website.
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