JACKI LYDEN, host:
From NPR News, this is All Things Considered. I'm Jacki Lyden. In most countries, it's not a good idea to insult the king. In Thailand, it's more than a bad idea. It's the law. Thailand is a constitutional monarchy where the king has little formal power. Yet, Thailand's laws against defaming the royal family are among the toughest in the world. And as NPR's Michael Sullivan reports from Bangkok, the new government seems intent on making their lese-majeste laws even tougher.
MICHAEL SULLIVAN: Giles Ji Ungpakorn teaches at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University - a longtime, unrepentant lefty with a penchant for provoking those in power.
Dr. GILES JI UNGPAKORN (Associate Professor of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University): (Laughing) I try.
SULLIVAN: But he is not laughing about the charges filed against on him Tuesday, which could land him in jail for 15 years for insulting the monarchy in his 2007 book, "A Coup for the Rich," in which he argued the coup that opposed the democratically elected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinowatra in 2006 was unjustified and undemocratic.
Dr. UNGPAKORN: It obviously had to deal with the role or the use of the monarchy, because the coup claimed royal legitimacy right from the beginning.
SULLIVAN: The book was pulled from the shelves of the university bookstore, but no action was taken against Ungpakorn until this week, when the special branch of the Thai police formally charged him with lese-majeste. Ungpakorn denies the charges, and accuses the new government of playing fast and loose with the law in order to crush political dissent.
Dr. UNGPAKORN: Well, the message they're sending to me, and I think the message they're sending to people similar to me, because there are a number of people opposed to the coup who are facing these charges now, is that we have staged a military coup, we have intervened in politics, and we are doing it with the legitimacy of the palace, so shut up. And if you don't shut up, you go to prison.
SULLIVAN: Ungpakorn says Monday's conviction of an Australian author on lese-majeste charges is the most dramatic example yet. Writer Harry Nicolaides was sentenced to three years in prison for a line in his novel describing the marital troubles of an unnamed Thai prince. The judge ruled the passage caused dishonor to the king and his son. Nicolaides was led away shackled and in handcuffs, his self-published book having sold just seven copies.
Dr. UNGPAKORN: There's a Thai saying: You slit the throat of the chicken so the monkey can see. In other words, it's to create fear among Thai people. And he is being sacrificed to bolster this climate of fear that they have created.
SULLIVAN: Thailand's new Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva says he's working to ensure the lese-majeste laws aren't abused, but says the monarchy must be protected because of its immense benefit to the country as a stabilizing force. And the government seems to be approaching that task with zeal, blocking Web sites it deems critical of the royal family. The police are also investigating several dozen lese-majeste cases, the highest number in years. But government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn says those cases are not politically motivated.
Mr. PANITAN WATTANAYAGORN (Government Spokesman, Thailand): The law is the law. And of course, 1 percent are charged with cases. I think that's up to the court, and up to the people who are involved in the law, to determine. We are in the political, obviously, and not able and cannot interfere.
SULLIVAN: Accused professor Giles Ungpakorn begs to differ. He says the monarchy is being used as a symbol by the military and the political elite to justify their removal of the last democratically elected government last month. If the new government was serious about upholding the rule of law, he says, he wouldn't be facing charges, and the hapless Australian novelist wouldn't be in jail, while at the same time...
Dr. UNGPAKORN: The people that shut down the airports, the people that used violence on the streets, the people that took over Government House, none of them are in prison. None of them are facing charges. And some of them are even in the government.
SULLIVAN: Ungpakorn says it's now up to the prosecutor to decide whether to bring his case to trial. His lawyer thinks it will happen. Yet another warning, Ungpakorn says, for those who might be thinking about challenging the status quo. Michael Sullivan, NPR News, Bangkok.