Asia-Pacific

Thailand arrests American for alleged king insult

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-05-27 16:09

BANGKOK - Authorities in Thailand have arrested an American man for allegedly insulting the country's monarchy, a serious offense in this Southeast Asian nation that is punishable by up to 15 years in jail.

The US Embassy confirmed Thursday's arrest but had few details.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Special Investigation, Thailand's equivalent of the FBI, said Friday that the 54-year-old man had allegedly created a link on his blog in 2007 to the book "The King Never Smiles," an unauthorized biography of King Bhumibol Adulyadej that is banned in Thailand.

According to the Thai-language prachatai.com news website that tracks lese majeste cases, the man was born in Thailand but lived in the US state of Colorado for 30 years.