Thai King pardons Swiss 'graffiti' man

Thailand’s king has pardoned a Swiss man who was given a 10-year sentence for spray-painting over images of the revered monarch.

However, the long-time Thailand resident has been ordered to leave the country, police said today.

Oliver Rudolf Jufer, who last month became the first foreigner convicted in at least a decade under strict Thai laws protecting the monarchy, was expected to be deported back to Switzerland later in the day, said police Col. Sangob Sanudon, the chief of Chiang Mai’s immigration office.

Police and prison officials in the northern city of Chiang Mai confirmed Jufer had been transferred to a police station in Chiang Mai ahead of his deportation. They said he was expected to fly to Bangkok and then onto Switzerland.

“The king in his kindness has granted him a pardon and he has been transferred from prison and is in the process of being deported from the country,” said Chiang Mai police Col. Prachuab Wongsuk told The Associated Press.

Jufer was caught by surveillance cameras spray-painting black paint over five outdoor posters of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in Chiang Mai, where he lived.

Bhumibol, who is greatly loved by Thais and regarded by some as semi-divine, is protected from reproach by strict laws that forbid any criticism of the monarchy.

Jufer, who lived in Thailand for 10 years, pleaded guilty in March to five counts of insulting the monarchy. He had faced a maximum of 75 years in prison.