Harry Nicolaides was born on 1967 or 1968 and is an Australian writer of Greek-Cypriot origin who was imprisoned in Thailand under the Thai lese majeste law, for a passage in a 2005 novel that was alleged to have defamed the Thai monarchy.
12 Facts About Harry Nicolaides
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In 2002, Nicolaides had published Concierge Confidential, a collection of fictional short stories based on his experience of having worked for seven years as a concierge at Melbourne's Rydges Hotel.
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Harry Nicolaides lived in Thailand from 2003 to 2005, working as a teacher in the northern Thai city Chiang Rai.
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Harry Nicolaides later lived and worked in Saudi Arabia, and wrote an article about the country as he perceived it, for the New Statesman.
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On 31 August 2008, Harry Nicolaides was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport while preparing to board a plane to Australia, apparently unaware of a March arrest warrant.
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On 19 January 2009, while wearing shackles and handcuffs, the day of the trial, Harry Nicolaides told reporters that he would like to apologize and that he had "unqualified respect for the king of Thailand" and had not intended to insult him.
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Harry Nicolaides later described the harsh conditions in the Bangkok Remand Prison, relating that he had met the suspected Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout and the Canadian child molester Christopher Neil while incarcerated.
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Viktor Bout 8.
The passage in question was from Harry Nicolaides's 2005 self-published novel, Verisimilitude.
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Harry Nicolaides subsequently remarried with another woman and fathered another child.
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Harry Nicolaides says that he sent letters to the Royal Bureau of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Culture to get a legal opinion on the passage, but did not receive a reply.
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Harry Nicolaides' lawyers were pressing for a royal pardon, an effort supported by the Australian government.
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On 21 February 2009, Harry Nicolaides received a royal pardon and returned to Melbourne.