BANGKOK: The Thai army has filed a criminal complaint against an American scholar working in Thailand, alleging that he insulted the country’s monarchy, an offense punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Paul Chambers, a political science lecturer, said police came to his workplace at Naresuan University in the northern province of Phitsanulok on Friday morning to serve him with an arrest warrant and summoning him to the local police station to formally hear the charges.
Chambers said he will report himself on Tuesday and hopes to get released on bail.
“I’m basically in limbo because I can’t go anywhere. I’m not supposed to,” he told The Associated Press. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m kind of nervous.”
A copy of the police summons, seen by the AP, says the regional army command filed charges against Chambers, including violating the law against defaming the monarchy and the Computer Crime Act.
The letter, signed by Phitsanulok City police chief Watcharapong Sitthirungroj, said the warrant was approved by the Phitsanulok Provincial Court on March 31. Watcharapong denied any knowledge of the charges against Chambers when first reached by the AP, but when asked about his signature on the document, said he couldn’t immediately comment and asked a reporter to call back.
The 3rd Army Area, covering Thailand’s northern region, was named as the plaintiff in the document, but could not be reached for comment. Army spokesperson Winthai Suvaree could not immediately be reached.
The summons did not explain the details of the offense that Chambers was accused of. Chambers said he believes it was related to a webinar last October in which he discussed the influence of the military in Thai politics.
Thailand’s lese majeste 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 is among the harshest such laws anywhere and has been used in Thailand to punish critics of the government and institutions such as the military. The army plays a major role in politics and has staged 13 successful coups since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932, most recently just 11 years ago.
It is rare for a foreigner to be charged under the law, which has been applied frequently in the past decade during a period of political polarization.
Public criticism of the monarchy, a linchpin of Thai identity, used to be rare, but student-led pro-democracy protests began to challenge that taboo in 2020, openly criticizing the institution. That led to vigorous prosecutions under what was previously a little-used law.
The advocacy group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights has said that since early 2020, more than 270 people — many of them student activists — have been charged with violating the lese majeste law, often referred to as Article 112.
