Lese-majesty

George III violated, 1798

Lese-majesty /ˌliːz ˈmædʒɨsti/^[1] (French: lèse majesté [lɛz maʒɛste]; Law French, from the Latin laesa maiestas, "injured majesty"; in English, also lese majesty or leze majesty) is the crime of violating majesty, an offence against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state.

This behavior was first classified as a criminal offence against the dignity of the Roman republic in Ancient Rome. In the Dominate, or Late Empire period the Emperors scrapped the Republican trappings of their predecessors and began to identify the state with their person.^[2] Though legally the princeps civitatis (his official title, roughly 'first citizen') could never become a sovereign, as the republic was never officially abolished, emperors were deified as divus, first posthumously but by the Dominate period while reigning. Deified Emperors thus enjoyed the legal protection provided for the divinities of the state cult; by the time it was exchanged for Christianity, the monarchical tradition in all but name was well established.

Narrower conceptions of offences against Majesty as offences against the crown predominated in the European kingdoms that emerged in the early medieval period. In feudal Europe, various real crimes were classified as lese-majesty even though not intentionally directed against the crown, such as counterfeiting because coins bear the monarch's effigy and/or coat of arms.

However, since the disappearance of absolute monarchy, this is viewed as less of a crime, although similar, more malicious acts could be considered treason. By analogy, as modern times saw republics emerging as great powers, a similar crime may be constituted, though not under this name, by any offence against the highest representatives of any state.

Current lese-majesty laws

Europe

Further information: Freedom of speech by country: Germany and Poland

In Germany, Switzerland,^[3] and Poland it is illegal to insult foreign heads of state publicly.

• On 5 January 2005, Marxist tabloid publisher Jerzy Urban was sentenced by a Polish court to a fine of 20,000 złoty (about €5000 or US$6,200) for having insulted Pope John Paul II, a visiting head of state.^[4]
• On January 26–27, 2005, 28 human rights activists were temporarily detained by the Polish authorities for allegedly insulting Vladimir Putin, a visiting head of state. The activists were released after about 30 hours and only one was actually charged with insulting a foreign head of state.^[5]
• In October 2006, a Polish man was arrested in Warsaw after expressing his dissatisfaction with the leadership of Lech and Jarosław Kaczyński by passing gas loudly.^[6]

Denmark

In Denmark, the monarch is protected by the usual libel paragraph (§ 267 of the penal code which allows for up to four months of imprisonment), but §115^[7] allows for doubling of the usual punishment when the regent is target of the libel. When a queen consort, queen dowager or the crown prince is the target, the punishment may be increased by 50%. There are no historical records of §115 having ever been used, but in March 2011, Greenpeace activists who unfurled a banner at a dinner at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference were charged under this section.^[8] They received minor sentences for other crimes, but were acquitted of the charge relating to the monarch.^[9]

Netherlands

In October 2007, a 47-year-old man was fined €400 for, amongst other things, lese-majesty in the Netherlands when he called Queen Beatrix a "whore" and described several sexual acts he would like to perform on her to a police officer.^[10]

Spain

The Spanish satirical magazine El Jueves was fined for violation of Spain's lese-majesty laws after publishing an issue with a caricature of the Prince of Asturias and his wife engaging in sexual intercourse on the cover in 2007.^[11]

Greece

The 14th article of the Constitution of Greece makes it an offence for the press to insult the President of Greece (as well as Christianity and any other religion recognized by the state).^[12]

Morocco

Moroccans are routinely prosecuted^{[citation needed]} for statements deemed offensive to the King. The penal code states that the minimum sentence for a statement made in private (i.e.: not broadcast) is imprisonment for 1 year. For a public offense to the King, the minimum sentence is 3 years. In both cases, the maximum is 5 years.^[13]

Recently, the case of Yassine Belassal^[14] The Fouad Mourtada Affair, and Nasser Ahmed (a 95 year-old who died in jail after being convicted of lese-majesty), revived the debate on these laws and their applications. In 2008, an 18 year-old was charged with "breach of due respect to the king" for writing "God, Country, Barca" on a school board, in reference to his favorite football club. The national motto of Morocco is "God, Country, King".

Thailand

Main article: Bhumibol Adulyadej

Thailand's Criminal Code has carried a prohibition against lese-majesty since 1908.^[15] In 1932, when Thailand's monarchy ceased to be absolute and a constitution was adopted, it too included language prohibiting lese-majesty. The 2007 Constitution of Thailand, and all seventeen versions since 1932, contain the clause, "The King shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated. No person shall expose the King to any sort of accusation or action." Thai Criminal Code elaborates in Article 112: "Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years." Missing from the Code, however, is a definition of what actions constitute "defamation" or "insult".^[16] From 1990 to 2005, the Thai court system only saw four or five lese-majesty cases a year. From January 2006 to May 2011, however, more than 400 cases came to trial, an estimated 1,500 percent increase.^[17] Observers attribute the increase to increased polarization following the 2006 military coup and sensitivity over the elderly king's declining health.^[17]

Neither the King nor any member of the Royal Family has ever personally filed any charges under this law. In fact, during his birthday speech in 2005, King Bhumibol Adulyadej encouraged criticism: "Actually, I must also be criticized. I am not afraid if the criticism concerns what I do wrong, because then I know." He later added, "But the King can do wrong.", in reference to those he was appealing to not to overlook his human nature.^[18] The Constitution does not provide the legal right for the royal family to defend themselves; accordingly they cannot file grievances on their own behalf^{[citation needed]}. Instead, the responsibility has been granted to the state and to the public. Cases are often filed by state authorities or by individuals, and anyone may take action against anyone else. In one notable incident during the 2005–2006 political crisis, deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his political opponent Sondhi Limthongkul filed charges of lese-majesty against each other. Thaksin's alleged lese-majesty was one of the stated reasons for the Thai military's 2006 coup.^{[19][20][21][22]}

Social activists such as Sulak Sivaraksa were charged with the crime in the 1980s and 1990s because they allegedly criticized the king; Sulak was eventually acquitted.^[23]

Frenchman Lech Tomasz Kisielewicz allegedly committed lese-majesty in 1995 by making a derogatory remark about a Thai princess while on board a Thai Airways flight. Although in international airspace at the time, he was taken into custody upon landing in Bangkok and charged with offending the monarchy. He was detained for two weeks, released on bail, and acquitted after writing a letter of apology to the king, and deported.^{[citation needed]} In March 2007, Swiss national Oliver Jufer was convicted of lese-majesty and sentenced to 10 years in jail for spray-painting graffiti on several portraits of the king while drunk in Chiang Mai;^[24] he was pardoned by the king on 12 April 2007 and deported.^[25]

In March 2008, Police Lieutenant Colonel Watanasak Mungkijakarndee of Bang Mod police station filed a case against Thai politician and supporter of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Jakrapob Penkhair, for comments threatening violence made in a Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) event in August 2007 that Watanasak personally alleged was a threat to national security, a frequent claim made by Thai authorities.^[26] In 2008 BBC South-East Asia correspondent and FCCT vice-president Jonathan Head was accused of lese-majesty three times by Col. Watanasak. Col. Watanasak filed new charges highlighting a conspiracy connecting Thaksin Shinawatra, Jakrapob Penkhair and Jonathan Head to Veera Musikapong at the FCCT. Jonathan Head was subsequently transferred by the BBC to Turkey.^[27] Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajiva has still not made a decision as to whether prosecutors should continue proceedings against Jakrapob Penkhair.

In September 2008, Harry Nicolaides^[28] from Melbourne, Australia, was arrested at Bangkok's international airport^[29] and charged with lese-majesty, for an offending passage in his self published book Verisimilitude. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to three years in jail^[30] but then pardoned by the king, released, and deported.^[31]

On 29 April 2010, Thai businessman Wipas Raksakulthai was arrested following a post to his Facebook account allegedly insulting Bhumibol.^[32] The arrest was reportedly the first lese-majesty charge against a Thai Facebook user.^[33] In response, Amnesty International named Wipas Thailand's first prisoner of conscience in nearly three decades.^[34]

On May 27, 2011, an American citizen, Joe Gordon (Lerpong Wichaikhammat), was arrested on charges he insulted the country's monarchy, in part by posting a link on his blog to a banned book about the ailing king. Gordon had lived in the United States for thirty years before returning to Thailand. He is also reportedly suspected of translating, from English into Thai, portions of The King Never Smiles – an unauthorized biography of King Bhumibol Adulyadej – and posting them online along with articles he wrote that allegedly defame the royal family.^{[35] [36]} Recently, some interest on Gordon's case has been generated from the question of whether Thai authorities have any jurisdiction at all over free speech exercised in, or that published on servers located in the United States. In August 2011, Not The Nation, an anonymous website^[37] that satirizes The Nation (Thailand), posted an article regarding the treatment of Harry Nicolaides, mentioned above, and described by NTN as lack[ing] writing talent and being an unemployable expatriate slacker, [but benefiting] from his relatability to his fellow Australians, many of whom are also talentless, unemployable expatriate slackers. This relatability is often referred to as “the Corby effect” after Schapelle Corby, the blonde Australian surfer girl who was sentenced to 20 years in an Indonesia prison for smuggling 4.2 kilos of cannabis in 2005, and whose case sparked unprecedented outrage in the Australian press despite being legally similar to dozens of previous similar cases. The article goes on to explain that Joe Gordon, not being blonde, young or female and furthermore look[ing] nothing like the media-enforced image of the average American, ...his arrest has drawn no significant press coverage or media-fueled outrage by the American population, suggesting limited political gain in mounting an aggressive defense just before an election year.^[38] After being denied bail eight times, a shackled–and–handcuffed Gordon said in court on October 10, “I’m not fighting in the case. I’m pleading guilty, sirs.” A verdict and sentence is expected to be issued November 9^[39].

In September 2011, computer programmer Surapak Puchaieseng was arrested, detained and had his computer confiscated after accused of insulting the Thai royal family on Facebook — his arrest marked the first lèse majesté case since prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra was elected. ^[40] The October 10 AP report on Joe Gordon's plea adds that "Yingluck’s government has been just as aggressive in pursing the cases as its predecessors."

Others

In January, 2009 there was a diplomatic incident between Australia and Kuwait over an Australian woman being held for allegedly insulting the Emir of Kuwait during a fracas with Kuwaiti Immigration authorities.^[41]

Even though the Supreme Leader of Iran is not a king, there are laws against insulting the station of the Supreme Leader.

Former laws

United Kingdom

In Scotland, section 51 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 abolished the common law criminal offences of sedition and 'leasing-making'. The latter offence, also known as 'lease /ˈliːz/ making', was considered an offence of lese-majesty or making remarks critical of the Monarch of the United Kingdom. It had not been prosecuted since 1715.^[42]

See also

• Blasphemy
• Flag desecration
• Insubordination
• Mutiny
• Sedition
• Treason

References

1. ^ "lese-majesty". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2nd ed. 1989.
2. ^ TheFreeDictionary.com, "Lese majesty" TheFreeDictionary.com, Columbia Encyclopedia, retrieved 22 September 2006
3. ^ Swiss Penal Code , SR/RS 311.0 ^(E·D·F·I), art. 296 ^(E·D·F·I)
4. ^ IFEX.org, "Criminal Defamation Laws Hamper Free Expression" IFEX.org, retrieved 22 September 2006
5. ^ NEWS.BBC.co.uk, "Sensitive heads of state", retrieved 30 January 2008
6. ^ Ananova.com, "Police hunt farting dissident" ananova.com, retrieved 31 August 2008
7. ^ Resinformation.dk
8. ^ "COP-15 activists in lèse majesté case". Politiken (Copenhagen). 1 March 2011. http://politiken.dk/newsinenglish/ECE1209764/cop-15-activists-in-lse-majest-case/. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
9. ^ Københavns Byret (22-08-2011). Greenpeace-aktivister idømt betinget fængsel i 14 dage. (in Danish).
10. ^ nrc.nl - Binnenland - Boete voor majesteitsschennis
11. ^ "Spain royal sex cartoonists fined". BBC. 2007-11-13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7092866.stm. Retrieved 2007-11-13. 
12. ^ http://www.ekloges.gr/syntagmaDetails.asp?pageid=3&langid=1&ArthroID=16
13. ^ PCB.UB.es
14. ^ BarcelonaReporter.com,
15. ^ NEWS.BBC.co.uk
16. ^ NEWS.BBC.co.uk
17. ^ ^{a b} Todd Pitman and Sinfah Tunsarawuth (27 March 2011). "Thailand arrests American for alleged king insult". Associated Press. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110527/ap_on_re_as/as_thailand_monarchy. Retrieved 27 May 2011. 
18. ^ "Royal Birthday Address: 'King Can Do Wrong'". National Media. 5 December 2005. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2005/12/05/headlines/data/headlines_19334288.html. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
19. ^ Asiaweek, A Protective Law, 3 December 1999 vol.45 no.28
20. ^ Colum Murphy, "A Tug of War for Thailand’s Soul", Far Eastern Economic Review, September 2006
21. ^ AFP, Thai coup leader says new PM within two weeks, 19 September 2006
22. ^ Time, World Notes Thailand: Not Fit for a King, 15 September 1986
23. ^ "A Critic May Now Look at a King", Macan-Markar, Marwaan, The Asian Eye, 18 May 2005
24. ^ BBC News, Sensitive heads of state, 29 March 2007
25. ^ BBC News, Thailand's king pardons Swiss man, 12 April 2007
26. ^ The Nation (NationMultimedia.com): Police to summon Jakrapob for allegedly lese majeste
27. ^ Colonel Wattanasak filed further charges against BBC reporter at CSD, Manager Online, 23 December 2008
28. ^ Australian man refused bail for insulting Thai King, ABC Online, 3 September 2008
29. ^ Australian arrested in Thailand for lese-majeste
30. ^ NEWS.BBC.co.uk, Writer jailed for Thai 'insult'
31. ^ NEWS.BBC.co.uk, Thailand frees Australian writer
32. ^ "Thai man arrested for Facebook post about monarchy". Agence France-Presse. 30 April 2010. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gl4ZSdUYK_wsrAZM2XQpzlrMtfGA. Retrieved 15 May 2011. 
33. ^ "Govt cracks down on social networking forums". Bangkok Post. 3 July 2010. http://www.bangkokpost.com/tech/mobile/184681/govt-cracks-down-on-social-networking-forums. Retrieved 15 May 2011. 
34. ^ Pravit Rojanaphruk (14 May 2011). "Amnesty International names Thailand's first 'prisoner of conscience'". The Nation. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Amnesty-International-names-Thailands-first-prison-30155366.html. Retrieved 15 May 2011. 
35. ^ "Joe Gordon, Colorado Man Living In Thailand, Arrested For Allegedly Insulting Monarchy". Huffington Post. 27 May 2011. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/27/colorado-man-arrested-in-thailand_n_867982.html. 
36. ^ "Freedom Alert: American arrested in Thailand, accused of criticizing monarchy". Freedom House. http://freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=581&alert=68. 
37. ^ Anonymous (28 September 2011). "About". Not The Nation. http://notthenation.com/about/. Retrieved 28 September 2011. "Not The Nation is for entertainment purposes only. Redistribution of Not The Nation content with attribution is permitted. Some photos and images used on Not The Nation are taken from the Internet. If one of them is yours, we apologize and are grateful. The author(s) of Not The Nation choose(s) to remain anonymous." 
38. ^ Anonymous (25 August 2011). "US Embassy ‘Disappointed’ That Joe Gordon Not Blonde, Young, Female". Not The Nation. http://notthenation.com/2011/08/us-embassy-disappointed-that-joe-gordon-not-blonde-young-female/. Retrieved 29 September 2011. "Gordon, whose real name is totally non-American-sounding Lerpong Wichaicommart, was formally charged Thursday after being arrested in May and detained for the maximum 84 days that a suspect can be held without charge under Thai law. The non-Caucasian, sexually unappealing “American” has denied the charges." 
39. ^ "Joe Gordon pleads guilty to lese majeste charges". Asian Correspondent. AP. October 10, 2011. "BANGKOK (AP) — Hoping for a lenient sentence, a shackled U.S. citizen pleaded guilty Monday to charges of defaming Thailand’s royal family, a grave crime in this Southeast Asian kingdom that is punishable by up to 15 years in jail." 
40. ^ "Thai Computer Programmer Detained After Criticizing Monarchy on Facebook". Freedom House. http://freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=581&alert=119. 
41. ^ SMH.com.au
42. ^ "Justice Committee Official Report (see column 2942)". Scottish Parliament. 20 April 2010. http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/justice/or-10/ju10-1302.htm. Retrieved Feb 2011. 

External links