American sentenced to prison 2.5 years for Thai royal insult
 

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.

***Damn*** :Oh crap

off with their heads

It's not a secret you don't say bad shit about the royal family, why the fuck would you risk pissing them off when it's obvious what could happen?

Cane him!!

55 years old, born in Thailand and doesn't know the rules? ...

Ignorance is no excuse :2 cents:

I guess he thought our 1st Amendment covered him in foreign countries.

They should have invited Borat, much less insulting !

Ok, so why the fuck would you be livin' over there. He deserves 2.5 years for being a douche.

So you mean thai laws are the law in thailand? Thats so odd.

There are just some lines you don't cross over here. That is one of them, and probably the biggest one.

He got off lucky, many get 15 years for the same thing.

Fun fact, if the first thing you think when you read about something like this is not"It's an injustice" but instead some kind of justification for the way things are, you might be an authoritarian follower

Fun fact, if you go somewhere and expect just because you're American you don't have to follow their rules you might be a moron.

they do love their king and the laws are strict - he's an idiot

He'll probably get off easy with a 'royal pardon' (what usually happens when a farang breaks the rules) and a nice ass kicking out of Thailand. But then again since he is a born Thai, they might not be so lenient.

Thailand is a xenophobic and lawless country. Rich douche kid who sliced Laotian girl in half got away withou any punishment because his daddy was rich. I would post the link to full story with pictures, but GFY twinkies would get offended. Don't expect any rights in a country known for no rule of law.

Just because guests in western nations stomp on the system and culture all they want doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. He should have had some more class.

freedom of speech doesn't apply in Thailand i guess...perhaps the royal family has good cause for not letting anyone speak out about them...it isn't my battle, but this is obviously not right.

It is interesting, that when someone breaks a law in the US that we think is crazy, everyone, including Europeans, have no problem saying that it's a terrible law. Somehow, when someone is punished by a terrible law in Thailand, that's ok, and we shouldn't criticize it.... Instead we should "respect their culture".

By that logic, EU citizens and Canadians on this board shouldn't criticize US laws that they find offensive.... They should "respect US culture".


Weird.


.:2 cents:

When in Rome .......

.

Thais don't feel its a terrible law. You don't insult the king or royal family there ever. They don't believe in that out of fear, they believe in that out of respect and love.

Lucky I'm not an American then XD

My point is then, by that logic, then we should not criticize Muslim countries for putting rape VICTIMS in jail, or allowing "honor killings". After all, their people want that law, and they believe in that law out of respect and love for the Koran.

.

If it's true that king is the reflection of his people, or people the reflection of their king, than I wonder what it makes the one in Thailand, seeing that Thais are xenophobic, corrupt and well... whores.

That's a good point. But I think it's because we have basically the same culture at least as far as the overarching institutions and principles of society go. There's a lower treshold for speaking frankly with your brother than some stranger. And there's also the good old "Americuh is bad" thing.

i asked a girl about that cause i was curious... they really love him, not just because they are told so. and they do not love all of them, just this one and the fifth

For those of you talking about Thai law, living over there, idiot etc.:

He has not lived in Thailand for the past 30 years, he was arrested during a visit there. His "crime" was translating something banned another person wrote, then posting it online. And that "crime" did not even happen in Thailand.

It reminds me of that Canadian citizen arrested and sentenced to death in Iran during a visit there, because he had distributed porn back in Canada.

Fuck censorship :321GFY

Pays off to limit your travel to civilized countries only.

He's an idiot to go back to Thailand having done that. Being born Thai he should have known better what the laws of his country are. Plus he's only getting 2 years and will probably get a 'Royal Pardon' anyways, so he's getting off easy, hardly comparable to what happened in Iran.

100% correct. Wherever they are, whatever they are doing, most Thais will pause for a moment of respect when they hear the twice daily National Anthem broadcasts. It is quite a sight watching a bustling market completely stop until the music finishes. Real respect.

Yeah, he should considered staying away. But their laws are more idiotic, and that's the point here.

The book is "The King Never Smiles" and it's a great read.

Basically it's how the Thai monarchy was almost destroyed in the revolution but survived and has been slowly grasping power back year on year.

It's banned because it has some serious allegations regarding the death of his older brother.

That would be those without the death penalty.

Every society needs to maintain it's most important values, and although I do not like this law and do not agree with it, it seems to work for them. This guy should have known better.

Yeah i heard a story about a tourist who got into a fight with a taxidriver and ripped a money bill in 2 with the kings head on it. Also went to jail apparently.

Well as long as they're punished for doing those things in other countries, and strictly encouraged to follow local laws and traditions, what they're doing back home wouldn't be much of a problem for anyone. Not saying you can't still critisize honor killings and other wonderful muslim "traditions", but I do not think you'd bother yourself much with this topic unless you witness those kind of atrocities imported into your own neighborhood.

You're right, he should have been let off because he is a good old american.

No one mentioned anything about penis envy or short man complex yet? I certainly understand their sensitivity. Just imagine being crap at everything and 5ft 2 with a tiny, tiny rice penis.

I wish I could hand out prison sentences every time someone hurt my precious feelings.

He knew what the rules were, so can't blame anyone but himself.

It's the same as you don't scream out "Allah Akbar!!!" when walking through US border control. If you do that, you can't really get pissed off when you find yourself sitting in a little room.

I love thailand and the ladyboys :thumbsup

I love turtles.

:thumbsup

Everybody in Thailand loving the royals is bullshit, 50% love them and the other 50% hate them. That's why they have these political clashes and street riots and power changes all the time. Each side is accusing the other side of corruption. And I agree with the "authoritarian follower" statement. The same people who approve this Thailand verdict whine about .xxx domains potentially leading to authoritarian control of the online porn biz.

If we don't tolerate people going to jail for something as minor as translating and publishing a book in our own country we shouldn't approve it happening in other countries.

their country, their law. :2 cents:

You seriously don't understand the difference between Thai politics and Thais loving their King?

I know your business involves shit, but your posts shouldn't always be so full of it.

of course all thais love the king, because if they didnt they would also get jail sentences, and if the newpapers reported it they would too

Yes, many (if not most) of them are incredibly xenophobic.

I wouldn't say it's lawless. Just different laws. You get away with things you shouldn't and get fucked up for things you shouldn't.

Cambodia was lawless 10-15 years ago. When you can buy hand grenades at the local market, it's lawless. But that is part of the attraction to the place.


The King himself has said he is not above being criticized, however, this law is often abused and used as a political weapon. Many who break this law do get a royal pardon by the King himself, as his gives them every year for his birthday.

But in terms of real freedom of speech, there is none in Thailand. Libel laws are incredibly strict here and you can get sued just for writing a bad review about a restaurant, even if every word of what you say is true. All the media outlets have lawyers on staff to vet every story they release, and many of them still get sued often.


Yea, it's always "respect their culture" but in reality, I don't even think most of the Thais know anything about their true culture. It's usually about greed, power, money, and superstition. Just like anywhere else in the world. Culture has little to do with it. Only foreigners say such things.


Doesn't apply. Thais can do pretty much anything, but we can't. And when something goes wrong, it's our fault. Goes back to them being xenophobic and uneducated.



Bah. Most of them don't have a clue about anything he has done other than he has "helped the people" before. Ask any Thai 10 specific things he has done, not one will be able to tell you off the top of their head. They love their king and believe in Buddha for the same reasons westerners believe in Jesus and fear God. It's handed down from parents to kids and force fed to them all their lives.

That said, he has done some really amazing things for Thailand and is worthy of their respect. I'm just stating that most Thais don't know why they should respect/love him, other than that's all they know to do. Just as most can not tell you what Buddhist principles are, however they spend their lives as Buddhists.


Never heard that one but I believe it. Had the taxi driver ripped it in two, nothing would have probably come of it.

Having said all of that, I still choose this twisted place over the USA right now. :pimp As bad as it may sound when you read some of the bad things, the good FAR outweigh the bad.

Great post DWB you are correct on so many levels.

Yes. A crisp 100 baht note (about $3 US) can get you out of most traffic violations that would cost you about 50 times more money plus court and traffic school in the US. Although I guess that can explain the crazy drivers. Nothing like taxi drives with a driver after he's been hitting the yaba!


I've lived in Thailand for almost 10 years but haven't heard of that, but then can't say I'm really surprised.

Agreed.

That sounds like famous last words a foreigner would say before being thrown out of a high rise with hands tied behind his back and plastic bag over his head - an act which Thai police would rule a suicide. More foreigners nationals get murdered in Thailand than in the rest of world combined. Only 0.4% of all British citizens traveling abroad travel to Thailand, but 60% of all British citizens murdered abroad are murdered in Thailand. It's no different for other countries.

Yeah I knew something wasn't right when I was typing my post but I still felt like posting it so it looks I'm know stuff :1orglaugh

But you're right. :winkwink: