American academic held in Thailand charged with insulting monarchy [View all]

Source: The Guardian

A prominent American academic has been detained in Thailand after being charged with insulting the monarchy, a rare case in which a foreign national has fallen foul of the country’s strict lese-majesty law.

Paul Chambers, who specialises in civil-military relations and democratisation in south-east Asia, was denied bail on Tuesday and is being held at Phitsanulok provincial prison in northern Thailand, his lawyers said.

He has been charged under section 112 of the Thai criminal code, which contains the country’s lese-majesty law, and section 14 of the Computer Crimes Act.

The charges relate to a webinar invitation titled “Thailand’s 2024 Military and Police Reshuffles: What Do They Mean?”. It was published in October 2024, on the website of the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, a research centre based in Singapore.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/08/american-academic-paul-chambers-thailand-charged-insulting-monarchy