Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Special Minister of State, representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs. I refer to the arrest and incarceration in Thailand of the Australian citizen, journalist and author Harry Nicolaides, who was arrested in Bangkok while travelling to Australia to visit his family on Sunday, 31 August 2008. Mr Nicolaides faces charges of lese-majesty, or offences against the crown, for comments made in his fictional novel Verisimilitude. Mr Nicolaides is a respected contributor to the Melbourne based Greek language newspaper Neos Kosmos.

According to his Australian lawyer, Mark Dean SC, Mr Nicolaides is effectively a political prisoner. He faces terrible conditions in his Thai jail, where he shares a cell with up to 50 prisoners many of whom suffer from communicable diseases, including tuberculosis. He has witnessed fellow prisoners dying in his cell from their illnesses. Mr Nicolaides’s family and counsel advise me that his mental and physical condition is rapidly deteriorating. Will the minister provide details as to what steps the Australian government has undertaken to ensure Mr Nicolaides’s immediate return to Australia?

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Xenophon for the question. I am advised that Mr Nicolaides was arrested in Bangkok on 31 August this year and charged under section 112 of the Thai penal code, which states that whoever defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen, the heir apparent or the regent shall be punished with imprisonment of three to 15 years. Obviously the government sympathises with Mr Nicolaides’s family in their distress over this detention and I can assure Senator Xenophon that Mr Smith, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, is taking a very close interest in Mr Nicolaides’s case. Mr Smith has spoken to the Australian Ambassador in Bangkok several times to keep informed of developments. Our ambassador has made representations to senior Thai authorities about the case and he has written a letter of support to the Foreign Ministry, and the Foreign Ministry has taken up the matter.

We are providing a high level of consular support to Mr Nicolaides through frequent visits to him in prison. Australian consular staff in Bangkok are visiting him at least weekly, compared to monthly visits for long-term Australian prisoners in Thailand. Consular staff of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra are in close communication with Mr Nicolaides’s family in Melbourne and are providing regular updates on developments and on Mr Nicolaides’s health and welfare. I can say that consular staff are also conveying frequent requests for assistance from Mr Nicolaides’s family to consular staff in Bangkok for appropriate action.

While undertaking these activities to support Mr Nicolaides, I think it is important to remember the situation he faces in relation to this alleged offence under the Thai penal code. Of course, Mr Nicolaides is subject to the Thai judicial process. The government cannot interfere in that process, just as we would not welcome an attempt by a foreign government to interfere in our own judicial processes. I understand that Mr Nicolaides is currently remanded in custody but is being denied bail. According to the Thai police, his case was passed to the public prosecutor on 13 October 2008. I also understand that the public prosecutor has 84 days from Mr Nicolaides’s original arrest on 31 August to bring the case to court. I can say that consular staff of the Department of Foreign Affairs assisted Mr Nicolaides to procure the services of a Thai lawyer. It is the lawyer’s role to advise him on legal issues.

Finally, I might mention the DFAT travel advice, which warns Australians generally that they are subject to local laws and penalties when they are overseas. The department’s travel advice for Thailand actually provides a specific warning to Australians about the penalties that apply under Thai law for insulting the Thai monarchy. I hope that is of assistance to Senator Xenophon.