BANGKOK (AP) ? A court in Thailand has sentenced a U.S. citizen to two and a half years in prison for defaming the country's royal family.
Thai-born American Joe Gordon was accused of translating excerpts of a locally banned biography of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and posting them online.
A Bangkok criminal court issued the verdict Thursday as Gordon stood wearing an orange prison uniform with his legs shackled.
The verdict indicated Gordon was to be sentenced to five years behind bars, but the judge halved the punishment because he pleaded guilty in October.
The 55-year-old has been detained since May.
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