BANGKOK – Authorities in Thailand have arrested an American man for
allegedly insulting the country's monarchy, a serious offense in this
Southeast Asian nation that is punishable by up to 15 years in jail.
The U.S. Embassy confirmed Thursday's arrest but had few details.
A
spokeswoman for the Department of Special Investigation, Thailand's
equivalent of the FBI, said Friday that the 54-year-old man had
allegedly created a link on his blog in 2007 to the book "The King
Never Smiles," an unauthorized biography of King Bhumibol Adulyadej
that is banned in Thailand.
According to the
Thai-language prachatai.com news website that tracks lese majeste
cases, the man was born in Thailand but lived in the U.S. state of
Colorado for 30 years. AP
