Harry on solid ground in Australia (Reuters)

Harry Nicolades six month ordeal is finally over and he is back home in Australia after a Royal pardon set him free just after midnight. Harry learned the news soon after his release of his mothers stroke while he was in a Thai Prison.

“I have been crying for eight hours,” he said.

“I learned only a few minutes before my flight that my mother had suffered a stroke….

“A few hours before that I was informed I had a royal pardon and asked to kneel before a portrait of the king – a royal audience of sorts.

“Before that I was climbing out of a sewerage tank that I fell into in the prison.”

While I’m sure he’s elated to be free I can only imagine the feelings he harbors towards Thailand. Thailand itself lumbers on still seemingly asleep and oblivious to the black eye it has given itself in the world community. Harry Nicolaides was tried and jailed for one sentence about the Thai Prince in a fictional book written years ago that no one had even heard of much less bought, who’s next and what perceived insult will jail them?

The newest Thai government is cracking down on what they say are Lese Majeste crimes when in reality they are using people like Harry Nicolaides to further their agenda against political rivals in the country. Anyone speaking out about the government is liable to have a lese majeste charge brought against them , and already more than a few have.

Hopefully, sooner than later, someone in Thailand realizes that with each case of lese majeste brough they are marching one step at a time backwards into the dark ages. Thailand has lost face in the worlds view and it seems they are happy to do so.