Jan 27, 2009, 10:55 GMT
Thailand's government wants to launch a campaign to teach foreigners about its strict monarchy protection laws.
The country's justice ministry is planning the education program in response to the international backlash against the imprisonment of Australian writer Harry Nicolaides, who was last week sentenced to three years in jail for slandering the royal family.
An official said: "The ministry has an idea to seek cooperation from the foreign ministry to ask all Thai embassies abroad to educate foreigners about lese majeste laws.
She said foreigners misunderstand the complicated laws, mistakenly believing the crime is not serious and carries a light sentence.
In fact, insulting the Thai royal family carries a maximum jail sentence of 15 years and some MPs are pushing to increase it to 25 years.
The official said protecting the royal family was the "government's priority" but activists say the recent increase in lese majeste investigations is designed to stifle dissenting voices.
Thai authorities have banned nearly 4,000 websites in recent months for allegedly insulting the crown.
More than 17 criminal cases of defaming the royal family are currently active.
Nicolaides, a 41-year-old university lecturer from Melbourne who has lived in Thailand for several years, was accused of insulting the king, the crown prince and the monarchy in his 2005 self-published novel that sold just seven copies.
The offending paragraph described a fictional prince who becomes embroiled in scandalous gossip. The judge said it "suggested abuse of royal power".
His lawyer and the Australian government have requested a royal pardon.
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