Washington D.C. – CNN, April 10, 2025
Thailand’s arrest of a prominent American academic on charges of insulting the monarchy has “alarmed” the United States, the State Department said, 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, could face years in prison after he was formally charged and detained when he presented himself to police and appeared in court on Tuesday.
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,” Akarachai said.
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.”
