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| Swiss man jailed for Thai insult | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A Swiss man has been jailed for 10 years after pleading guilty to charges of insulting the Thai king. | A Swiss man has been jailed for 10 years after pleading guilty to charges of insulting the Thai king. |
| Oliver Jufer, 57, was arrested last December after drunkenly spray-painting portraits of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in the northern city of Chiang Mai. | Oliver Jufer, 57, was arrested last December after drunkenly spray-painting portraits of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in the northern city of Chiang Mai. |
| Earlier this month he pleaded guilty to five charges under Thailand's draconian lese majeste law. | |
| Judge Phitsanu Tanbukalee said that Jufer received a reduced sentence because he had admitted his guilt. | |
| "This is a serious crime, and he was sentenced to four years for each of five counts, for a total of 20 years," he said. | "This is a serious crime, and he was sentenced to four years for each of five counts, for a total of 20 years," he said. |
| "Because he confessed, the court has reduced his sentence to 10 years." | "Because he confessed, the court has reduced his sentence to 10 years." |
| Jufer is believed to be the first foreigner ever imprisoned for the offence. | |
| Others have been charged in the past, but later expelled from the country rather than jailed. | |
| Sensitive issue | |
| Jufer, who had faced a maximum sentence of 75 years, has lived in Thailand for more than 10 years. | |
| KING BHUMIBOL ADULYADEJ Born in 1927, ascended throne in 1946World's longest-serving current head of stateOfficial powers are limited, but wields enormous influence because of popular backingWidely believed to have given backing to 2006 military coup Case shows monarchy fears | |
| He was recorded on surveillance cameras defacing the portraits on the king's 79th birthday. | |
| Earlier he had tried to buy alcohol but been refused, since such sales are sometimes banned on important days. King Bhumibol, the world's longest-serving current head of state, is a very popular figure in Thailand. | |
| The case has highlighted strict laws in Thailand which forbid any criticism of the monarchy. | The case has highlighted strict laws in Thailand which forbid any criticism of the monarchy. |
| Such is the sensitivity of the issue, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok, that it is receiving little attention in the Thai media. | |
| Most Thais feel a deep reverence for their monarch. But they also fear discussing the institution because of the severe penalties for criticising members of the royal family. | |
| Jufer has a month to lodge an appeal against the sentence, our correspondent adds, but his best hope now is probably a royal pardon. |