U.S. citizen faces 15 years for online insult to Thai royal family

Bangkok – A shackled U.S. citizen pleaded guilty today to charges of defaming Thailand’s royal family – a grave crime in the south-east Asian kingdom that is punishable by up to 15 years in jail. Thai-born American Joe Gordon has been detained since late May for translating excerpts of a locally banned biography of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and posting them online. Judges said that a sentence would be issued for Gordon, who committed the alleged crimes years ago while living in the U.S. state of Colorado, where he worked as a car salesman. The case has raised concerns about the reach of Thai law and how it is applied to both Thai nationals and foreign visitors.  more