State prosecutors in Thailand announced Thursday that they don\u2019t intend to press charges against an American academic arrested for royal defamation, an offense punishable by up to 15 years in prison. <\/p>\n
The arrest last month of Paul Chambers, a political science lecturer at Naresuan University in the northern province of Phitsanulok, had drawn concern from the academic community, especially from Asian studies scholars around the world, as well as the US government <\/p>\n
The decision not to prosecute the 58-year-old Oklahoma native doesn\u2019t immediately clear him of the charge of insulting the monarchy\u2014 also known as \u201cl\u00e8se majest\u00e9\u201d \u2014 or a related charge of violating the Computer Crime Act, which covers online activities. <\/p>\n
The announcement said that the Phitsanulok provincial prosecutor will request the provincial court to drop the charges and forward the case file and nonprosecution order to the commissioner of Provincial Police Region 6, covering Phitsanulok, who may review and contest the decision. <\/p>\n
Chambers, a 58-year-old Oklahoma native with a doctorate in political science from Northern Illinois University, was arrested in early April on a complaint made by the northern regional office of the army\u2019s Internal Security Operations Command. <\/p>\n
He has studied the power and influence of the Thai military, which plays a major role in politics. It has staged 13 coups since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932, most recently 11 years ago. <\/p>\n
The army\u2019s Internal Security Operations Command told a parliamentary inquiry that it filed the complaint based on a Facebook post that translated words from a website operated by ISEAS\u2013Yusof Ishak Institute, a think tank in Singapore, about a webinar on Thai politics that included Chambers as a participant. <\/p>\n
Chambers\u2019 supporters said that the blurb for the webinar, which was cited in his charge sheet as evidence, wasn\u2019t written by him. <\/p>\n
He had been jailed in April for two nights after reporting himself to the Phitsanulok police, and then granted release on bail, with several conditions, including wearing an ankle monitor. A court on Tuesday allowed him to take off the device. <\/p>\n
Chambers\u2019 visa was revoked at the time of his arrest on the basis of an immigration law barring entry to foreigners who are deemed likely to engage in activities contrary to public order or good morals, prostitution, people smuggling and drug trafficking. It wasn\u2019t immediately clear whether the revocation will stand. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis case reinforces our longstanding concerns about the use of l\u00e8se majest\u00e9 laws in Thailand,\u201d a US State Department statement said after Chambers\u2019 arrest. \u201dWe continue to urge Thai authorities to respect freedom of expression and to ensure that laws are not used to stifle permitted expression.\u201d <\/p>\n
Thailand\u2019s l\u00e8se majest\u00e9 law calls for three to 15 years imprisonment for anyone who defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen, the heir apparent or the regent. Critics say it\u2019s among the harshest such laws anywhere and also has been used to punish critics of the government and the military. <\/p>\n
The monarchy has long been considered a pillar of Thai society and criticizing it used to be strictly taboo. Conservative Thais, especially in the military and courts, still consider it untouchable. <\/p>\n
However, public debate on the topic has grown louder in the past decade, particularly among young people, and student-led pro-democracy protests starting in 2020 began openly criticizing the institution. <\/p>\n
That led to vigorous prosecutions under the previously little-used law. The legal aid group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights has said that since early 2020, more than 270 people \u2014 many of them student activists \u2014 have been charged with violating the law. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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