KUALA LUMPUR: An American citizen who had been imprisoned for two and a half years last December after being convicted of insulting the King, was pardoned on Wednesday and freed. The case has sparked criticism from the White House over the matter, which also saw the Embassy urge the government in Bangkok to let the man go free and respect freedom of expression. Thai-born Lerpong Wichaikhammat, 55, also known as Joe Gordon, had pleaded guilty during his trial to using the Internet to spread insults against the monarchy, charges stemming from material posted on his blog in the United States. “Joe Gordon was granted a royal pardon and released from jail on Tuesday night,” Walter Braunohler, a spokesperson at the US Embassy in Bangkok, said on Wednesday in a statement. The case had become a point of action for rights groups, who said that Thailand's use of draconian lesse-majeste laws to silence critics of the 84-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej was wrong and unjust. The King is the world's longest reigning monarch. Human rights groups had hoped Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, some of whose party members are among those accused of lese-majeste, would reform the law after winning the popular election last year. But she has been moving carefully, aware that her opponents in the military and royalist establishment could seize on any hint of disloyalty to the monarchy to bring down her government. “We urge Thai authorities on a regular basis, both privately and publicly, to ensure that freedom of expression is protected in accordance with international obligations,” spokesperson Braunohler said. The embassy did not say whether the man would return to the United States or remain in Thailand.
