Harry Nicolaides is a good natured, decent Australian citizen.

Harry was born in Melbourne and raised in the suburb of East Doncaster. He attended the local secondary school and has been described by his peers as ‘fun loving’, ‘likeable’, and with a ‘great sense of adventure’. Harry is admired by his friends and loved by his family. Harry has no criminal record, nor has he ever been convicted of an offence.

Harry graduated from Melbourne University with a Diploma of Education but decided to pursue a career in hospitality. Harry worked at the Rydges Hotel and was quickly promoted to Head Concierge. Harry displayed the utmost respect to all guests who stayed at the hotel including Kim Beazley and Natasha Stott Despoja. Harry was referred to as the hotel’s Ambassador and his hard work earned him a Victorian Tourism Award for individual excellence in 2001.

His sense of adventure lead Harry to Thailand in 2003 where he worked teaching English at Mae Fa Leung University in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand. He fell in love with the country and the people and continued to travel and work over a period of almost five years. Harry provided education to many Thai students in the English language. He was also well regarded by academic staff at the University.

Lese Majeste charge

In 2005 Harry decided to write a fictional book in English titled ‘Verisimilitude’ which is an account of contemporary Thailand seen through the eyes of a foreigner. Fifty copies were printed and approximately ten copies were sold. Harry took a number of steps to check the contents of the book with Thai government authorities, as it contained one paragraph that has been deemed offensive to the Thai royal family by those who brought a charge of Lese Majeste against him (a form of criminal defamation under the Thai penal code). The offending paragraph did not contain any names of members of the royal family, as the book was fictional, but only referred to royal titles. The offending paragraph will not be reproduced because it is not the aim of this site to cause any further embarrassment to the people of Thailand or those that brought the charge against Harry.

It should be noted that Harry’s book was accepted by the National Library of Thailand in 2005 and was issued an ISBN number. Recent media reports in January 2009 indicate a copy of the book was still publically available in the National Library in Bangkok.

Harry was not fully aware of the intricacies of the Lese Majeste law and has always claimed he never intended to offend anyone by his choice of words. Harry is not an activist of any sort, nor is he a member of any political, social, academic or religious activist/rights group. He has also sincerely apologised to the King of Thailand and the royal family for his actions.

Harry was arrested on 31 August 2008 and charged with Lese Majeste. The penalty for violating Lese Majeste can vary between 3 and 15 years imprisonment. On 19 January 2009, Harry was convicted and sentenced to 3 years imprisonment. He has already been jailed for almost five months and is suffering from extraordinarily difficult prison conditions.

Harry Nicolaides’ health –both mental and physical– is fading rapidly, his family and his friends hold grave concerns that he may not survive given the conditions he faces on a daily basis. Our objective is to bring Harry home.

What is the Australian Government doing about Harry Nicolaides?

To be blunt the Australian Government has done very little. The Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, has not taken active steps to assist nor has he made himself responsible for Harry’s case. More recently, following Harry’s sentencing and significant media attention, the Australian Government issued a letter of support for the pardon application that will be made to His Majesty the King of Thailand on behalf of Harry. This is one positive step and now requires urgent follow up by the Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to ensure the application is expedited through the relevant Thai authorities in order to reach the Thai Palace.

As in the tragic case of Britt Lapthorne, it appears as though DFAT – headed up by Mr. Smith - will only act when enough media and political pressure is brought to bear. Mr. Smith is duty bound to protect all Australian citizens while abroad yet chose not to investigate the circumstances of Harry’s case earlier.

What the Australian Government should be doing about Harry Nicolaides?

The Australian Government should create a logical and persistent strategy that is articulated to Harry and his family which shows a definite course of action with timelines focused entirely on getting the pardon application to the Monarchy for consideration.