UK academic Wyn Ellis released from Thai detention

[DirtyDan]

Good on Ellis for sticking to his principles... It took Chula 4 years to investigate the plagiarised thesis and their graduates wonder why they can't get credit in American Uni (personal experience)?

[elviajero]

Statement from Wyn Ellis

Amazed by the global attention I seem to have attracted over the last few days. Due to the huge number of inquires and expressions of concern from media representatives and all our lovely friends (thank you all so much), I would like to give a brief update on the circumstances of my unexpected weekend at Suwarnabhumi Airport.

On arrival in Bangkok from Europe last Thursday, I was informed by Immigration that due to my blacklisting instigated by NIA they were obliged to refuse entry to Thailand and I would be have to return to Oslo on the next available flight (Sunday 6 Sept). I objected to this and elected instead to remain in the airport transit area for an extra few days in order to present evidence and request my name be immediately removed from the blacklist

I know there have been a lot of social media criticism of the Immigration Dept over this case, but this is somewhat misplaced. it was entirely my choice to stay to clear the situation locally. So, I want to make it clear I was never kept locked up by the Immigration Dept; this was my choice to remain so I could clear my name from the blacklist. So please give the guys a break!

The Immigration Dept staff have treated me extremely well, offering every convenience they could offer. While the holding room is not endowed with lava lamps and creature comforts, it is fairly clean and the Thai food is always excellent. I spent most of today working in the office of an Immigration official, and was brought food and REAL coffee.

Negotiations are still proceeding, mainly centred around Sunny, my amazing and fearless wife!. So I still cant tell you what's going to happen. At the moment I am stuck here, but things could change quickly.l

I have asked the incoming NIA Director (Dr Pun-Arj Chairatana) to issue another official letter to the Immigration Dept, requesting my removal from the Immigration blacklist, to no avail. His letter of 4 Sept stopped short of this, and merely revoked the original complaint. I am also still awaiting a grovelling official apology... At the every least, I would have expected NIA to issue a statement condemning the malfeasance and flagrantly malicious abuse of power to conduct a vendetta against a private individual, that is so evident in this case; finally, I am calling on NIA to confirm that it will be taking immediate criminal action against the perpetrator under Article 157.

I will provide a further update later tonight. Fingers crossed, folks, and heartfelt thanks once again for all your support. It means so much.

SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/wyn.ellis/posts/10206456555785768?pnref=story

This statement does not really reflect one of his tweets

"Pleased to report that I am now out of custody and back in my in my home in Bangkok Yessss!! Pls send pics."

Confused...

Why confused?

What doesn't it reflect?

[Jeremy50]

Finally. Go home, mate. You are not safe here.

I would say he is home as he is a Thai citizen

Cue sound of 60 million Thais laughing incredulously.

[Lupatria]

Now that's innovation! No plastic surgery needed!

[Srikcir]

One thing made clear in this recent episode of the government's abuse of Thai citizen Wyn Ellis' rights is that the Thai public was largely silent and the international community was vociferous. There is no merit in remaining silent.

Freedom of speech is not just the domain of a nation but the bedrock of citizen rights the world over. When a government vigorously suppresses freedom of speech, it a necessary interjection into its domestic affairs that world citizens defend the abused without regard to nationality.

[tigermoth]

"The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office said the situation is now resolved."

No it isn't, not till the scumbag responsible, and we can probably guess who that is, is shamed and punished

[/quote

Unless the blatent corruption of jutice and individual rights by the official that this story has been about is publicly punished and dismissed from his post the Junta and its leader will have no credibility here or internationally. They are already well on the way to destroying it anyway.

[UKCanuk]

And the cheat was originally allowed to graduate on a plagiarised paper, which really helps boost the country, and Chulalongkorn's image. No wonder Thai universities struglle to reach world rankings.

Funny where you can find these things. In the 90's, I used to see bachelor degrees from UK universities hanging on my staff members walls at home and many contained the words "Only valid in Brunei Darussalam" on the bottom of the certificate. UK universities got the money and the student (who may never have attended a class in four years) got a useless piece of paper that looked nice on the wall.

Not just in Thailand...

[newcomer71]

Why confused?

What doesn't it reflect?

In his tweet he admitted to be in custody, in his FB statement, he said he remained in the airport transit area voluntarily...

[oldsailor35]

errrmmm

12002314_594561967348227_1849225193180423829_n.jpg

Have you made any appeal to the Prime Minister, the very man who has declared to stamp out this kind of behaviour.

[kjun12]

I am way happy for you. You should sue that creap for defamation which is a popular thing here in LOL. That would turn his crank. Most important thing would be to get a copy of the letter he sent.

[Linky]

Why confused?

What doesn't it reflect?

In his tweet he admitted to be in custody, in his FB statement, he said he remained in the airport transit area voluntarily...

He was in custody but voluntarily n custody because he chose that option instead of returning to Oslo.

[Caitrin]

So let me get this straight, he lost his Thai passport, so he tried to exit the country on his UK passport? Uh, I think usually you can only enter and leave one of your countries with your passport for that country. And then you have to explain the missing stamps later if asked.

I wouldn't leave Japan after naturalisation on my U.S. passport, and vice versa. That would be stupid, and is pretty much a no no in both countries. I'd have waited.

[billd766]

The university should be revoking his/her degree.

I believe that Chula has withdrawn his "Thesis" and therefore his doctorate or his attempt at gaining his doctorate

http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20131031161316390

Thank you for spending a little time on researching the story. If only more people did that before posting it would be a good thing.

[mmh8]

great stuff. to see some success in the face of this villany.

However, were he actually to have been intimidated he would have left the country to never have been allowed to return due to potential loss of face of innovation director. and the resultant potential loss of face to whoever was meant to have checked qualification

oh and the fact that some well respected uni actually did not notice how good the language was in this particular thesis and gave im a phd.

red faces all round. perhaps chula will take it as a lesson and use it as an example of why they should attempt to prevent plagiarism within acadamia and its rampant use throughout industyr

[kannot]

errrmmm

12002314_594561967348227_1849225193180423829_n.jpg

I still think they owe you an apology for their systems and how you got onto their systems in the first place and why you got onto their system of blacklisting.

[Tomtomtom69]

The sad thing we learn from this is that, even if a foreigner cares enough about Thailand to go through the hoops and become a citizen, he/she will still be treated as "second class" and doesn't seem to have any more rights than a tourist. Can someone please explain how a person who is a citizen of a country and holds a passport be "blacklisted" without some sort of court process and revocation of the passport? Only in Thailand !!!

Exactly!!

This guy is a dual citizen. It says so in the Bangkok Post article I read.

Yet he is still being treated as a tourist?!!

OK, so his mistake was to enter Thailand as a British citizen, but what kind of country even allows a citizen to enter on a foreign passport? No civilized country does, but hey well Thailand and civilized obviously don't belong in the same sentence.

So let's start deporting fake Thais with US and Australian passports. See how they would like that given how legitimate Thai citizens are being deported for the "crime" of being white with a Thai passport and a little bit of mild criticism of a cheat.

[piersbeckett]

A great day for Welsh belligerence and intellectual property rights!

Well done doctor and Sunny - good luck for the future.

[Tomtomtom69]

So let me get this straight, he lost his Thai passport, so he tried to exit the country on his UK passport? Uh, I think usually you can only enter and leave one of your countries with your passport for that country. And then you have to explain the missing stamps later if asked.

I wouldn't leave Japan after naturalisation on my U.S. passport, and vice versa. That would be stupid, and is pretty much a no no in both countries. I'd have waited.

Of course.

But what I don't get is that in all discussions here, one is lead to believe this guy is just a simple UK expat when in fact lo and behold he is a naturalized THAI citizen.

He should therefore be entitled to the same rights any Chinese, Khmer, Lao, Mon, Burmese, Malay or even Khaek (Indian-Sikh) origin Thai would have. Many other Thais, from these ethnic origins and others also possess dual citizenship themselves.

[SOTIRIOS]

.....see the sad, ugly truth for what it is.....

...in so many facets of this society.....

...sick.....

[Caitrin]

OK, so his mistake was to enter Thailand as a British citizen, but what kind of country even allows a citizen to enter on a foreign passport? No civilized country does, but hey well Thailand and civilized obviously don't belong in the same sentence.

I don't know if "allows" is the right word, but I happen to know, personally, some Japanese-Americans who hold both nationalities and have gamed the system by changing passports when it suits them. An example would be those who leave Japan on their Japanese passport to come back in as an American after applying for special exchange student or exchange professional situations. In addition to carrying different passports, they are listed under different names. They may be listed on their koseki (family register) as Yamada Taro, but listed as Smith, Terry on their American birth certificate, passport, etc. Since Japanese nationals are never fingerprinted (unless they commit a crime or go into some kind of security apparatus), and it doesn't seem like Japanese nationals are kept in a facial recognition system, there is no way to identify these individuals as dual-nationals (which is surprising since, you know, dual nationality is a limited time thing with Japan, depending if you were born with it or naturalised to it, you can't keep both forever according to immigration policy).

I know someone right now who decided they wanted to the JET Program, so they applied to the program on their US passport, went through the interviews, got accepted, did their five years as a JET, turned around, left, handing in their residency card, and returned on the Japan passport. That was years ago, and it doesn't appear Japan ever found it.

So it happens, but is it allowed? Certainly not.

[Caitrin]

So let me get this straight, he lost his Thai passport, so he tried to exit the country on his UK passport? Uh, I think usually you can only enter and leave one of your countries with your passport for that country. And then you have to explain the missing stamps later if asked.

I wouldn't leave Japan after naturalisation on my U.S. passport, and vice versa. That would be stupid, and is pretty much a no no in both countries. I'd have waited.

Which story are you commenting on?it certainly has nothing to do with this one.

It does, doesn't it? I mean, he shouldn't have ever been blacklisted, but I was just clarifying, he ran into the blacklist because he got caught out without proof of his Thai nationality, right, because he tried to do something a national shouldn't do: use another passport and enter and to leave?

I was saying, in addition to the awfulness of being blacklisted by an abuse of power, he also did something I wouldn't do as a dual national, because I'm pretty sure it's breaking the law. Or at least immigration policy.

[somo]

The second time in a week that Thailand has been embarassed in front of the world.

With the trial of the 2 Burmese also showing the Thai police in a very bad light + the slavery scandal perhaps it will slowly sink in to the powers that be can no longer get away with everything. The internet and globalization are slowly dragging Thailand into the 20th century. We will have to wait a little longer for the 21st.

[puffy]

Recently in Korea the elite are being held accountable for their actions.

There needs to be the same pressure applied to this man, whose alleged

actions are for more deplorable than the ranting airline woman.

Who asked for his name put on the Blacklist?

What is the correct procedure for being put on the Blacklist?

Who put him on the Blacklist?

Was the correct procedure followed in revoking his passport?

Was there an arrest warrant for him?

Why and on whose order was he detained?

Are the Police being used like a private force for the Hi-So elite?

All the allegations against this man must be investigated fully, and if guilty

prosecuted to expediently and to the fullest extent of the Law.

I hope that the unelected Junta who seized power on the back of fighting

against corruption are serious in their pledge to wiping it out and is not a

case of Thaksin corruption is unacceptable but corruption by the traditional

elite is fine.

[Tomtomtom69]

OK, so his mistake was to enter Thailand as a British citizen, but what kind of country even allows a citizen to enter on a foreign passport? No civilized country does, but hey well Thailand and civilized obviously don't belong in the same sentence.

I don't know if "allows" is the right word, but I happen to know, personally, some Japanese-Americans who hold both nationalities and have gamed the system by changing passports when it suits them. An example would be those who leave Japan on their Japanese passport to come back in as an American after applying for special exchange student or exchange professional situations. In addition to carrying different passports, they are listed under different names. They may be listed on their koseki (family register) as Yamada Taro, but listed as Smith, Terry on their American birth certificate, passport, etc. Since Japanese nationals are never fingerprinted (unless they commit a crime or go into some kind of security apparatus), and it doesn't seem like Japanese nationals are kept in a facial recognition system, there is no way to identify these individuals as dual-nationals (which is surprising since, you know, dual nationality is a limited time thing with Japan, depending if you were born with it or naturalised to it, you can't keep both forever according to immigration policy).

I know someone right now who decided they wanted to the JET Program, so they applied to the program on their US passport, went through the interviews, got accepted, did their five years as a JET, turned around, left, handing in their residency card, and returned on the Japan passport. That was years ago, and it doesn't appear Japan ever found it.

So it happens, but is it allowed? Certainly not.

That's very interesting but it shouldn't be allowed.

The USA and Australia woudn't allow it. Strange that Japan does. Could perhaps be, as you say due to a lack of a common system that tracks these things. Strangely though, Cambodian immigration knows I am a dual citizen by virtue of having used two different passports to enter their country and also having my fingerprints taken. Of course this is absolutely OK, but if Cambodia can do it, why not Thailand? Or Japan for that matter?

[lildragon]

Recently in Korea the elite are being held accountable for their actions.

There needs to be the same pressure applied to this man, whose alleged

actions are for more deplorable than the ranting airline woman.

Who asked for his name put on the Blacklist?

What is the correct procedure for being put on the Blacklist?

Who put him on the Blacklist?

Was the correct procedure followed in revoking his passport?

Was there an arrest warrant for him?

Why and on whose order was he detained?

Are the Police being used like a private force for the Hi-So elite?

All the allegations against this man must be investigated fully, and if guilty

prosecuted to expediently and to the fullest extent of the Law.

I hope that the unelected Junta who seized power on the back of fighting

against corruption are serious in their pledge to wiping it out and is not a

case of Thaksin corruption is unacceptable but corruption by the traditional

elite is fine.

South Korea is a functioning democracy though. It was a broken one under Thaksin sure but this current regime are more akin to the South Koreans lovely northern neighbors....

[optad]

OK, so his mistake was to enter Thailand as a British citizen, but what kind of country even allows a citizen to enter on a foreign passport? No civilized country does, but hey well Thailand and civilized obviously don't belong in the same sentence.

I don't know if "allows" is the right word, but I happen to know, personally, some Japanese-Americans who hold both nationalities and have gamed the system by changing passports when it suits them. An example would be those who leave Japan on their Japanese passport to come back in as an American after applying for special exchange student or exchange professional situations. In addition to carrying different passports, they are listed under different names. They may be listed on their koseki (family register) as Yamada Taro, but listed as Smith, Terry on their American birth certificate, passport, etc. Since Japanese nationals are never fingerprinted (unless they commit a crime or go into some kind of security apparatus), and it doesn't seem like Japanese nationals are kept in a facial recognition system, there is no way to identify these individuals as dual-nationals (which is surprising since, you know, dual nationality is a limited time thing with Japan, depending if you were born with it or naturalised to it, you can't keep both forever according to immigration policy).

I know someone right now who decided they wanted to the JET Program, so they applied to the program on their US passport, went through the interviews, got accepted, did their five years as a JET, turned around, left, handing in their residency card, and returned on the Japan passport. That was years ago, and it doesn't appear Japan ever found it.

So it happens, but is it allowed? Certainly not.

That's very interesting but it shouldn't be allowed.

The USA and Australia woudn't allow it. Strange that Japan does. Could perhaps be, as you say due to a lack of a common system that tracks these things. Strangely though, Cambodian immigration knows I am a dual citizen by virtue of having used two different passports to enter their country and also having my fingerprints taken. Of course this is absolutely OK, but if Cambodia can do it, why not Thailand? Or Japan for that matter?

I think you' find that the problem with dual nations with one nationality's name in characters and the other in another script ie the roman alphabet, problems and duplicity as mentioned above arises. This in a common problem in Australia. I know Indians uses in particular use enough variation on their registered name, emigrated name/details to create another identity for centrelink purposes and driving licenses etc. D.O.B is not always enough to cross references these instances.

[mankondang]

The university should be revoking his/her degree.

They have. "His doctorate was revoked in June 2012, and he was convicted of forgery". Please read the full BBC Wales article above.

[FBlue72]

The sad thing we learn from this is that, even if a foreigner cares enough about Thailand to go through the hoops and become a citizen, he/she will still be treated as "second class" and doesn't seem to have any more rights than a tourist. Can someone please explain how a person who is a citizen of a country and holds a passport be "blacklisted" without some sort of court process and revocation of the passport? Only in Thailand !!!

Can someone please explain how a person who is a citizen of a country and holds a passport be "blacklisted" without some sort of court process and revocation of the passport?

Because when you live in a brothel, you're gonna get <deleted>

[Caitrin]

That's very interesting but it shouldn't be allowed.

The USA and Australia woudn't allow it. Strange that Japan does. Could perhaps be, as you say due to a lack of a common system that tracks these things. Strangely though, Cambodian immigration knows I am a dual citizen by virtue of having used two different passports to enter their country and also having my fingerprints taken. Of course this is absolutely OK, but if Cambodia can do it, why not Thailand? Or Japan for that matter?

Well, it isn't legally allowed. One might argue it's tacitly unremarked upon if it exists, but I don't know how accurate that argument might be. I know that efforts to track Japanese nationals beyond the basic within Japan is heavily unpopular with the Japanese population because of privacy concerns. Just because Terry Smith got finger printed and photographed on entering the country doesn't mean that Yamada Taro ever was.

I think the only nationals that can be tracked this way, are naturalised ones, because they didn't have a Japanese identity until they started to create it for purposes of naturalisation based on their foreign identity. Japan knows that Jerry Jones who becomes Matsumoto Jeiri is the same person, because they have access to how the foreign identity turned into the Japanese identity. For Taro/Terry, there is absolutely no such way, since as a child he was most likely a registered birth in both countries completely independently, establishing two completely different identities, which have never crossed.

[optad]

So let me get this straight, he lost his Thai passport, so he tried to exit the country on his UK passport? Uh, I think usually you can only enter and leave one of your countries with your passport for that country. And then you have to explain the missing stamps later if asked.

I wouldn't leave Japan after naturalisation on my U.S. passport, and vice versa. That would be stupid, and is pretty much a no no in both countries. I'd have waited.

Which story are you commenting on?it certainly has nothing to do with this one.

It does, doesn't it? I mean, he shouldn't have ever been blacklisted, but I was just clarifying, he ran into the blacklist because he got caught out without proof of his Thai nationality, right, because he tried to do something a national shouldn't do: use another passport and enter and to leave?

I was saying, in addition to the awfulness of being blacklisted by an abuse of power, he also did something I wouldn't do as a dual national, because I'm pretty sure it's breaking the law. Or at least immigration policy.

It is tricky Caitrin.

But it is not an area as yet with legal parameters on the practice as far as i know. In Australia, you are advised how to switch between passports if necessary, simply because of problems caused by confusion not illegality at any immigration point. It is suggested you always return and leave host country on that passport. This seems to be Wyn's error. The blacklisting now makes sense given his inability to properly identify himself if i am reading it right.

If that is the case this is more of an unfortunate extension of his problems with superbrat.