Swiss man faces trial in Thailand on charges of insulting king
Swiss man faces trial in Thailand on charges of insulting king
CHIANG MAI, Thailand: A Swiss man accused of insulting this nation’s monarchy by spray-painting over several portraits of the revered king pleaded guilty Monday and faces a maximum 75-year prison sentence.
Oliver Rudolf Jufer, 57, was caught by surveillance cameras on Dec. 5 spray-painting black paint over several portraits of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in the northern city of Chiang Mai, police said. His lawyer said he was intoxicated during the act.
The vandalism coincided with Bhumibol’s 79th birthday, which was celebrated across Thailand with fireworks and prayers. The king is the world’s longest serving monarch.
Jufer made no comment as he entered the courthouse with his legs chained, dressed in an orange prison uniform.
Judge Chaikrit Devaplin said Jufer pleaded guilty, reversing an initial statement of non-guilt that he had made to police, and a sentence was expected to be issued March 29.
The trial was closed to the public, and prosecutors declined to discuss details of the case because of sensitivities in Thailand about portraying the beloved king in a negative light.
“Revealing the details of this case does not benefit anybody because it involves the king and the monarchy,” said prosecutor Bhanu Kwanyuen, adding only that Jufer is accused of defacing five posters and faces a penalty of between three and 15 years in prison for each one.
“In every Thai constitution, the king is revered and worshipped, and he cannot be insulted,” Bhanu said. “Thai people cannot accept this act of insulting the king.”
Jufer has lived in Thailand for more than 10 years, and lives in Chiang Mai, said his court-appointed lawyer, Komkhit Kunyodying. He said his client was drunk when he defaced the posters of the king.
The military launched a separate investigation into the incident, saying Jufer’s act raised suspicion that he was hired by someone opposed to the Sept. 19 coup that ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Chiang Mai, about 570 kilometers (350 miles) north of Bangkok, is Thaksin’s hometown and a key base of support for the former prime minister.
Millions of portraits of the king were erected late last year to honor his birthday. Across the kingdom, people also wore yellow shirts, a sign of devotion to the king.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
3 Responses to “Swiss man faces trial in Thailand on charges of insulting king”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
A Swiss man was jailed for 10 years Thursday for insulting Thailand’s revered king by vandalising his portraits during a drunken spree.
Oliver Jufer, 57, had pleaded guilty to five counts of lese majeste — the crime of offending the dignity of a sovereign — for defacing several portraits of King Bhumibol Adulyadej with spray paint in the northern city of Chiang Mai.
He had faced up to 75 years in prison, but the court sentenced him to 20 years and then halved the term because Jufer had confessed.
“The court has punished him for insulting the king. This is a serious crime, and he was sentenced to four years for each of five counts, for a total of 20 years,” judge Pitsanu Tanbuakli said.
“Because he confessed, the court has reduced his sentence to 10 years,” he said.
Jufer can appeal the ruling, but his court-appointed lawyer did not attend the sentencing. Jufer said nothing as he entered or left the court.
Prosecutors declined to comment on the case due to the sensitivities of speaking about Thailand’s king.
Jufer is from Zurich but has lived mainly in Thailand for the last 10 years and has married a Thai woman, according to authorities.
Security cameras videotaped him defacing the king’s portraits on December 5, which is the king’s birthday and a time of national celebration.
Thailand has been swept up in royal fever since the king’s 60th anniversary on the throne in June last year.
The palace also became more prominent in Thai political life with a military coup in September, which was conducted with the king’s apparent blessing.
The generals who staged the coup have repeatedly said that one of the reasons for ousting then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was because he had been “impolite” to the king.
Prosecutors are investigating three claims of lese majeste against Thaksin. A fourth charge, accusing Thaksin of praying inside a temple reserved for royals, has already been dropped.
Thailand’s king is the world’s longest-reigning monarch, and one of the few who is still protected by tough laws that prohibit any insult to the royal family.
Thai law allows anyone to file a lese majeste complaint with the police, which makes people reluctant to engage in any sort of public conversation about the king or his family.
Portraits of the monarch, who will be 80 in December, hang in every public buildings and shrines to him dot the sidewalks in major cities.
Although the trial has attracted international attention, Thai media have hardly mentioned it due to the difficulty of reporting about the king without committing lese majeste in the process.
King pardons Swiss lese majeste man
CHIANG MAI: — His Majesty the King has pardoned the Swiss man convicted last month of lese majeste for spray-painting portraits on the monarch.
“His Majesty in his kindness has granted him a pardon and he has been transferred from prison and is in the process of being deported from the country,” said Chiang Mai Pol Col Prachuab Wongsuk.
Oliver Rudolf Jufer, 57, was convicted last month of lese majeste and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
A resident of Thailand, Jufer painted over the posters last year, supposedly while he was drunk.
Uncertain future
It is not as though they have to set an example. Almost the entire population of Thailand came out to celebrate the king’s 60th anniversary on the throne last year, in a mass outpouring of affection and veneration I have seen nowhere else.
Nine months later you still see huge numbers of people wearing yellow, the king’s colour, to work, to social events, even at home.
Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej
Some Thais fear for the future of their revered monarchy
The respect they feel for their monarch is genuine, and deeply-felt. Very few would wish to say anything unfavourable about the king, which is one reason why cases of Lese Majeste are quite rare. It would seem the law is not really needed.
Talk privately to well-educated Thais, though, and you hear different views. Most still admire the king for his dedication to duty, but they worry about the monarchy’s future.
The king is 79 years old and in uncertain health. His son, the crown prince, does not enjoy the same affection that his father does, and many Thais feel he cannot fill his father’s shoes. These concerns are well-known in Bangkok; less so in the countryside.
The problem is that the monarchy, although a largely symbolic institution under Thailand’s various constitutions, has been elevated in people’s minds to the status of a national savior.
Political divide
Politics has always been messy, and politicians are mostly viewed as corrupt and self-serving, doing little good for the country. Little effort is made to improve the political culture, because people feel they can rely on the untarnished status of the king to sort them out in times of trouble.
And times have rarely been as troubled as they are now. The crowds offering flowers to the soldiers who led last September’s coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra are just a faded memory.
The military-installed interim government grows less and less popular by the day as it struggles to chart a course back to democratic rule.
Many Thais are in despair over their country, which is deeply divided over whether Mr Thaksin or the military is the worst option.
At such a time no-one wants to think about the time when they will be without the only king most people have known in their lives.
So whatever their worries, there is no appetite to discuss the monarchy, nor to tinker with the law that inhibits such discussion. It’s safer, they say, to leave the law, and leave people in no doubt that they cannot criticize the monarchy in any way, than to see Thailand’s royals go the way of Britain’s.
It’s a perspective Oliver Jufer must wish he had kept in mind on that fateful night last December.