The Thai court sentenced the 41 year old Haris Nikolaidis to three years in prison, which is the smallest sentence for such offence, says Elefterios Tipos newspaper. Offending the monarchy can bring up to 15 year sentence in Thailand, because the 81 year old king Boumibol Adoulyadei-Rama IX is perceived as a demigod.

Haris Nikolaidis is a Cyprian journalist, who lives in Australia, where his parents emigrated years ago. In August 2008 Mr. Nikolaidis returns back to his girlfriend in Thailand. During 2003-2005 he was teaching English philology in a local university. Last spring an order was issued for his arrest and when he arrived at the airport, he was taken into custody.

The authorities in Bangkok believed that Nikolaidis has offended the king in his book, which he published in 2005. His “mistake” was in one of the paragraphs in the novel “Verisimilitude,” which was printed in 50 copies and only 7 were sold. This paragraph talks about the scandalous love life of an imaginary price. The judicial authorities in Thailand decided that in his story Nikalaidis is talking about the prince who is the heir to the throne in Bangkok.

“I’m feeling like Alice in wonderland. I think it is all a nightmare and when I wake up, all of you will be gone,” said Haris Nikolaidis when he heard his sentence. His brother Fotis, who has visited the cell, says that Haris is sleeping on a blanket on the floor in a cell with ninety more people. Some of them were sick from tuberculosis and another one has died from pain, pleading someone to give him medications.

One of the higher Thai academicians – 76 year old sociologist Soulak Sivaraska sent a plea to the Thai Prime Minister in order to cancel the law under which Nikolaidis was sentenced. A global campaign has started, which gathers signatures in order to free Nikolaidis.