Harry Nicolaides was freed from prison last month after a long incarceration for defaming the royal family. He has been declared persona non grata in Thailand and now lives in his native Australia. THE MONTHLY has published an account of his time in prison.
Life in a Bangkok Prison
On the night of 31 August 2008 my life took an unexpected turn. I had spent months preparing for an interview in Melbourne with the InterContinental group. I was looking forward to working in the luxurious surrounds of the city's newest five-star hotel.
"Do you have a case, sir?" asked the official at Bangkok Airport's passport control, minutes before I was to walk into the departure lounge for the midnight flight to Melbourne. Within hours I was questioned, photographed and arrested by uniformed immigration officers, and taken to the Crime Suppression Division.
In a dark, damp cell I stripped off my clothes and laid them on the floor, fashioning a bed with my shoes as a pillow. Sleep was impossible: I was thirsty and hungry, confused and alone. In the morning I made a short court appearance, before being handcuffed and shuffled onto an overcrowded prison bus bound for the Bangkok Remand Prison.
Those three paragraphs encapsulate the beginning of a bad time for the author of a book found offensive to Thai Authorities. Its international sales were 12. The title can't be found on Amazon, but for the rest of this article please go to the following URL
http://www.themonthly.com.au/tm/node/1545
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