Man pardoned for insulting Thai king

Thailand has pardoned a Swiss man who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for defacing an image of the country's revered king, law enforcement officials said Thursday.

Oliver Rudolf Jufer, 57, was the first foreigner convicted in at least a decade under strict Thai laws protecting the monarchy. He pleaded guilty in March to five counts of lese majest, or insulting the monarchy and had faced a maximum of 75 years in prison.

Police and prison officials in Chiang Mai confirmed Jufer had been transferred Wednesday to a police station in Chiang Mai awaiting his deportation. They could not say when he would be deported.

"The king in his kindness has granted him a pardon and he has been transferred from prison and is in the process of being deported from the country," Chiang Mai Police Col. Prachuab Wongsuk told The Associated Press.