American academic faces years in jail after charged with insulting Thai monarchy

Summary

CNN — A prominent American academic working in Thailand could face years in jail after being charged with insulting the monarchy, in a rare case of a foreign national allegedly falling foul of the kingdom’s strict lese majeste law. Paul Chambers, a lecturer at Naresuan University in central Thailand who writes analysis on the kingdom’s military and politics, was formally charged when he presented himself to police on Tuesday, and appeared in court. Thailand has some of the world’s strictest lese majeste laws, and criticizing the king, queen, or heir apparent can lead to a maximum 15-year prison sentence for each offense. Anyone can file a lese majeste complaint and sentences for those convicted can be decades long, with hundreds of people prosecuted in recent years. Chambers’ lawyer, Wannaphat Jenroumjit, said a warrant for his arrest was issued last week after a complaint was filed by a regional army command. Alongside lese majeste, Chambers is also facing charges under the Computer Crimes Act. “He was accused of publishing a blurb on (Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies) website in connection with an ISEAS webinar in October 2024 about military reshuffles,” said Akarachai Chaimaneekarakate, advocacy lead for Thai Lawyers for Human Rights and part of Chambers’ legal team. “He denied all charges. He neither wrote nor published the blurb on the website,” said Akarachai. Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s court appearance, Chambers told CNN he had been told little about why he was charged and feared he “could be imprisoned for 15 years.” Chambers is being held in custody after being denied bail. His lawyers have submitted another bail request in an effort to prevent him from being held in pre-trial detention. Chambers is a scholar, author and lecturer at Naresuan University’s Centre of ASEAN Community Studies, and frequently contributes insights to news articles on Southeast Asia, including to CNN. Advocates say the charges pose “a grave threat to academic freed...