Farang Prince Dies In Thai Jail

[ScubaDuc]

RAI, the Italian television state network, reported last night that the son of the former Shah of Persia, now IRAN, and his first wife died after being held 6 days in a Thai jail

The TV report speccified that apparently the prince could not get on a flight out of Thailand in time for the visa expiration and decided to correct it himself by changing the date on the visa. He was cought at the airport and arrested. His family reported having posted bond...twice!!! The first time of 5000 USD and the second time of 6000 USD, but despite this, the prince was not released. He died after being held only six days. As to the cause of death, the family said the thai authorities would need at least two month for a response

[aaaaaa]

hmmmm, very mysterious !

[johnb]

Yes - I'm very suprised that as a 'Prince' he didnt have a) Diplomatic immunity a direct line to his Embassy - as a 'Prince' I cant see how he should have gone to Jail

Johnb

[Jai Dee]

Apart from this re-told Italian television state network report... does anyone else have a source for this story?

I can't find one...

[jdinasia]

Yes - I'm very suprised that as a 'Prince' he didnt have a) Diplomatic immunity a direct line to his Embassy - as a 'Prince' I cant see how he should have gone to Jail

Johnb

A son of the former Shah ... while still technically a "Prince" would have absolutely 0 offical status in Iran ... in fact would likely never be allowed to leave Iran if he ever went there ....

Edited August 10, 2006 by jdinasia

[jdinasia]

I have searched google etc and found nothing on this

[sriracha john]

Any dates on his death or when the imprisonment began?

The only recent news on him I could find is him issuing a press statement, demanding the release of political dissidents held in Iran, from his home in America on August 3.

Rather suspect OP given the 6 days in prison.

Edited August 10, 2006 by sriracha john

[ilyushin]

Shah Family

[jdinasia]

oh ... and note .... the son of the Former Shah ... would not be a Farang

so no "farang prince" I guess

[sriracha john]

true jd... the thread gets more and more suspect

[percy2]

oh ... and note .... the son of the Former Shah ... would not be a Farang

so no "farang prince" I guess

Why?

[Donz]

Oh well, bad luck aye.

[jdinasia]

oh ... and note .... the son of the Former Shah ... would not be a Farang

so no "farang prince" I guess

Why?

Do you know the meaning of farang?

[Darky]

oh ... and note .... the son of the Former Shah ... would not be a Farang

so no "farang prince" I guess

Why?

Do you know the meaning of farang?

Funny the same happened to a German Prince. All over German Newspapers today.

Click

Myterious.

Edited August 10, 2006 by Darky

[Head Snake]

Didn't it say his first wife died too?

What was he doing with his first wife presuming there were others

?

[sriracha john]

nothing coming up for a German prince, either.

Do you have any links or the names of German papers?

[percy2]

oh ... and note .... the son of the Former Shah ... would not be a Farang

so no "farang prince" I guess

Why?

Do you know the meaning of farang?

Yes.

Do you know that Iranians are generally caucasian.

[Jai Dee]

Funny the same happened to a German Prince. All over German Newspapers today.

Click

Myterious.

Thanks for the link Darky... anyone got an English version?

[Axel]

Darky in post #14 gave the link to Bild-Zeitung. According to them, the son of Ira von Fürstenberg, Christoph Prinz zu Hohenlohe, died in a Thailand jail. Apparently, mid of July arrived in Bangkok, when he wanted to go on to Honolulu, fights fully booked. So he changed the date in his passport, which was found out by a Thai immigration officer. His grandmother is Clara Agnelli (86), > FIAT shares.

http://www.bild.t-online.de/BTO/news/aktue...thai-knast.html

Edited August 10, 2006 by Axel

[joinme2leave]

it's been AUSTRIA's Prince Christoph von HOHENLOHE, aged 50.

[orchis]

His mother was IRA von Furstenberg, maybe the Italian tv made that into prince of IRAN?

[Axel]

Now we have Italy, Austria and Germany in the game. Below is the fellow, as much as I could find, and he was born in SWITZERLAND:

http://www.thepeerage.com/p8084.htm#i80835

Christoph Victorio Egon Humberto de Hohenlohe-Langenburg1 (M)

b. 8 November 1956, #80835

Pedigree

Father Alfonso Maximiliano de Hohenlohe-Langenburg1 b. 28 May 1924, d. 21 December 2003

Mother Virginia Prinzessin zu Fürstenberg1 b. 18 April 1940

Last Edited 1 Feb 2004 (Above makes him German by parents)

Christoph Victorio Egon Humberto de Hohenlohe-Langenburg was born on 8 November 1956 in Lausanne, Switzerland.1 He is the son of Alfonso Maximiliano de Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Virginia Prinzessin zu Fürstenberg.1

Edited August 10, 2006 by Axel

[joinme2leave]

both austrian and swiss citizenship.

family property all over europe but his mother princess Ira Fürstenberg permanently lives near Vienna.

not one of the famous family members though.

his snobby appearance might have been the main reason for his death. if he'd applied for extended visa (his onward flight to Hawaii was unavailable) it would have been no problem at all but he did it the "easy" way.

Those kinda things might have worked for him in austria but definitely not in Los. Not a lot of ppl will miss him here.

The most famous member of the HOHENLOHE family is his brother Hubertus who use(d) to participate in several Olympic Winter games (though, with Mexican citizenship).

[a2396]

Yes - I'm very suprised that as a 'Prince' he didnt have a) Diplomatic immunity a direct line to his Embassy - as a 'Prince' I cant see how he should have gone to Jail

Johnb

Your political rference point is 25 years out of date. He is no longer prince of anything. The former Shah was replaced by the Islamic fundamentalists, who now control Iran. The so-called prince has no diplomatic protection.

[a2396]

Germany and Austria also no longer have Kaisers & Emperors. They disappeared in 1918. These royal titles are meaningless in a legal dispute in any country.

[ScubaDuc]

I reported the news as I had heard it on the 8 o'clovk news and I sourced it Sorry for the confusion on the family but I am not a royal expert. I thought the story was important enough to bring to everyone attention

Can't argue with the moral though; don't mess with your visa....

[TokyoT]

Have not been able to find anything else about this on the web just yet – maybe someone out there can read Italian can find more and translate.

http://www.corriere.it/english/articoli/20...to/09/ira.shtml

Ira Fürstenberg’s Son Dies In Prison

Christoff Hohenlohe had spent seven days in a Bangkok jail for altering a visa. Cause of death is not known.

MILAN – There were no seats on the flight. He couldn’t get to Hawaii and had to put off his departure for a few days until he could find another flight. But there was a problem: his visa had expired. What could he do? Prince Christoff Hohenlohe, 50, son of Ira von Fürstenberg, didn’t want to waste time arguing with immigration officials in Bangkok so he took his pen and altered the date on his visa to 6 August. But police noticed the alteration and arrested him. Christoff spent almost a week in jail but then fell victim to a sudden illness and died. That, at least, is the official version, which explains that death occurred a few hours after the prince was taken to hospital. It is not known why he died although possible causes include heart attack, infection or insulin deprivation. Christoff’s family is incredulous at the way an episode they thought would be quickly resolved has been concluded. Christoff’s brother Hubertus with girl friend Simona and mother Ira flew to Bangkok a few days after his arrest. Ira managed to visit him in prison on Friday, before his mysterious illness and death.

THE TRIP – Christoff arrived in Thailand in mid July. He was intending to stay at a celebrated wellness centre to lose the excess kilos that had become an obsession. About ten days later, he decided to leave Bangkok and return to what he considered his real home, Hawaii. Unfortunately, there were no seats on the flight he had hoped to catch so he decided to travel three days later and rescheduled his departure for Saturday 29 July. But there was a considerable obstacle to overcome: his entry visa had expired. The immigration authorities would certainly object and he might even miss his plane again. European and American citizens are not required to pay an entry fee but the prince was a Liechtenstein national and had that extra formality to deal with. He forged the date to avoid wasting any more time, hoping to slip through unobserved.

ARREST – Police at the airport immigration office spotted the forgery at once. “Kiko”, as the prince is known, was detained, searched, questioned and taken to a police station, where he spent the next two days. He tried to explain, assuring his questioners that he had no intention of committing a crime and that he merely wanted to leave Thailand as quickly as possible. It was one of his friends in Bangkok who informed the family about what had happened. Forty-eight hours later, a judge confirmed the arrest and sent the prince to jail. And it was a real jail, one of the establishments that Amnesty International periodically denounces for the abuse of prisoners and the inhuman conditions in which they are detained.

THE PRISON – Christoff Hohenlohe was transferred to prison early on Tuesday morning. His brother Hubertus and mother Ira alerted first the Swiss and then the Italian embassies. “The family contacted us only last Friday and we immediately put them in touch with a competent lawyer”, confirms Gianluca Greco, an official at the Italian embassy in Bangkok. There has been a first ruling. The judge has rejected the bail offered by the Fürstenberg family and confirmed the prince’s custody. In the meantime, the lawyer was working on an appeal but there was not enough time. On Friday, Ira managed to speak to her son, thanks to the embassy’s intervention. During the Saturday night, Kiko was taken ill in jail but to date no one has been able to clarify what actually happened in his cell. He was taken to hospital, where he died a few hours later on Sunday night. “We received an embarrassed phone call from the prison”, says Hubertus, “and who knows if we will ever find out the truth”.

Cristina Marrone

Corriere Della Sera

English translation

by Giles Watson

www.watson.it

[Ulysses G.]

oh ... and note .... the son of the Former Shah ... would not be a Farang

so no "farang prince" I guess

Why?

Do you know the meaning of farang?

Yes.

Do you know that Iranians are generally caucasian.

"Persians" (Iranians) consider themselves to be white folks, not Arabs.

[Donz]

oh ... and note .... the son of the Former Shah ... would not be a Farang

so no "farang prince" I guess

Why?

Do you know the meaning of farang?

Yes.

Do you know that Iranians are generally caucasian.

"Persians" (Iranians) consider themselves to be white folks, not Arabs.

Depends who you ask.

[percy2]

oh ... and note .... the son of the Former Shah ... would not be a Farang

so no "farang prince" I guess

Why?

Do you know the meaning of farang?

Yes.

Do you know that Iranians are generally caucasian.

"Persians" (Iranians) consider themselves to be white folks, not Arabs.

Thats what I thought.

Maybe I don't understand the word farang