Follow us on Twitter Great news. It is about 1 pm in Melbourne, Saturday February 21. Forde Nicolaides is at Melbourne airport awaiting his brother, Harry’s return from Thailand. Harry Nicolaides will be home in about an hour after being granted a royal pardon and released from jail. This has been a well co-ordinated campaign, in which Melbourne PEN played a vital role. We liased closely with Sydney PEN, International PEN, and the family and through them with the lawyer, and an innocent man is free. There are many questions that need to be asked as to why it came to this, and why Harry became a pawn in Thai politics. But today is a time for celebration and to say thank you to all those who wrote, emailed and lobbied the Australian government and media on Harry’s behalf. These actions contributed greatly to this outcome. Action does produce results. Forde Nicolaides has asked me to pass on his family’s thanks for all that has been done on his brother’s behalf.
Warm wishes
Arnold Zable
President, Melbourne PEN.
Feb 212009
