Sydney  - The Australian government has supported a request for a royal pardon for Australian author Harry Nicolaides, who was sentenced to three years in prison in Thailand this week for insulting its monarchy with his little-read novel, media reports said Thursday.

Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith said he had written to his Thai counterpart supporting a request for a pardon from Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej for Nicolaides, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.

The Bangkok Criminal Court on Monday found Nicolaides, 41, guilty of lese majeste for a passage in his novel that allegedly criticized the son of Bhumibol, Thailand's much-revered king for the past 62 years.

Publicly criticizing or belittling the Thai royal family is a criminal offence in Thailand, punishable by a minium of three years in jail and a maximum of 15 years.

Judges said they gave Nicolaides the minimum sentence because he pleaded quilty. The Australian national also issued a public apology to the monarchy for the offending passage in his book, which reportedly sold seven copies.

Nicolaides' attorneys have no plans to appeal the conviction but are pursuing a request for a royal pardon.

The king has granted pardons for lese majeste convictions in the past, usually as part of amnesties to mark his birthday on December 5.

Nicolaides was arrested on August 31 at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport as he was trying to take a flight to Australia.

His arrest coincided with a political crisis in Bangkok, sparked by the pro-royalist People's Alliance for Democracy.

Thailand's lese majeste law is deemed one of the world's harshest. There are several cases pending in Thai courts against prominent politicians and journalists.

Two years ago, Bhumibol himself publicly criticized the lese majeste law, noting that he did not consider himself above criticism.

The law was adopted decades ago when Thailand was a fledgling democracy under military control. Thai politicians have been reluctant to change the law, given the enormous popularity of the king. (dpa)