Monday, March 12, 2007

Insulting the King

A 57-year-old Swiss man has pleaded guilty in a court in Thailand to charges of insulting the king.

Oliver Jufer was arrested last December after drunkenly spray-painting several portraits of the monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

In court, Jufer pleaded guilty to five charges under Thailand's draconian lese majeste law.

He is due to be sentenced later this month, and the maximum penalty he could face is 75 years in jail.

Jufer's lawyer said the minimum sentence he faced was seven-and-a-half years.
Official powers are limited, but wields enormous influence because of popular backing
Widely believed to have given backing to 2006 military coup

Police reports said Jufer was drunk when the portraits were defaced on 5 December, which as the day of the King's birthday is a national holiday.

Jufer, who has lived in Thailand for more than 10 years, was recorded on surveillance cameras defacing the portraits.

King Bhumibol was Born in 1927 and ascended throne in 1946 & is currently the World's longest-serving current head of state

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