Arrest warrant issued for US academic under ban on insulting royalty

[reader]

From The BBC

A Thai court has issued an arrest warrant for an American academic under Thailand's lese-majeste law that forbids insulting the monarchy.

The army filed a complaint against Paul Chambers, a lecturer at Naresuan University in central Thailand, under lese-majeste and computer crime laws, according to his legal representation.

Mr Chambers and his lawyer are due to report to police on Tuesday, where charges are expected to be filed.

Akarachai Chaimaneekarakate, advocacy lead for the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights Centre representing Mr Chambers, told the BBC he did not know the reason for the complaint.

If convicted, Mr Chambers could face three to 15 years in prison for each lese-majeste count.

Continues at

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqx48egpgq1o

 

[vinapu]

issue fits with book I'm reading right now about XIII century France

[reader]

From AFP

Thailand revokes visa of US academic charged with royal insult

A US academic charged with breaking Thailand's strict royal defamation laws was granted bail on Wednesday, his lawyers said, but remains in custody pending an appeal to immigration authorities who earlier revoked his visa.

Paul Chambers, who has spent over a decade teaching Southeast Asian politics at a Thai university, was arrested on Tuesday after reporting to police to answer a charge of lese-majeste.

His case is a rare instance of a foreigner falling foul of strict laws which shield King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family from any criticism and can lead to decades-long prison sentences.

"The Appeal Court... issued an order granting bail for Paul," said a post on X from the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights group (TLHR) representing Chambers.

"Paul will remain in custody at Phitsanulok Provincial Prison until the result of the bail request from immigration police is known."

His lawyer Wannaphat Jenroumjit earlier told AFP that immigration authorities had visited Chambers in detention and informed him his visa had been revoked.

Wannaphat said Chambers was "not confident but remains hopeful" in the Thai justice system.

The Thai military filed a complaint against Chambers this year over an article linked to a think-tank website which focuses on Southeast Asian politics.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/international-relations/thailand-revokes-visa-of-us-academic-charged-with-royal-insult/ar-AA1CAEVD

[bkkmfj2648]

I can only imagine how this is going to play out, in light of:

- the current Trump tariffs,

- and the recent anger of Marco Rubio from the State Department, about Thailand sending back against their will the 40 Uyghurs to China.

The Thai government sure has a way of upsetting the apple cart.

 

[khaolakguy]

Seeing articles about this case from other non-thai sources I think that we are best to be circumspect with our comments(not least for the sake of this forum).

I have decided not to add links to those articles, although Mr Google will doubtless assist.

[vinapu]

9 hours ago, khaolakguy said:

Seeing articles about this case from other non-thai sources I think that we are best to be circumspect with our comments(not least for the sake of this forum).

I have decided not to add links to those articles, although Mr Google will doubtless assist.

at least we now understand better how , say authoritarians ,  are managing to silence their people

[unicorn]

18 hours ago, reader said:

From AFP

Thailand revokes visa of US academic charged with royal insult

A US academic charged with breaking Thailand's strict royal defamation laws was granted bail on Wednesday, his lawyers said, but remains in custody ...

That's an oxymoron. If you're granted bail, you're not in custody. My understanding is that he didn't insult the King, but rather criticized military funding/propriety.

[Keithambrose]

1 hour ago, unicorn said:

That's an oxymoron. If you're granted bail, you're not in custody. My understanding is that he didn't insult the King, but rather criticized military funding/propriety.

Oxymoron  indeed. The original report in paper,

 

The army filed the complaint against Mr Chambers for "defamation, contempt or malice" towards the royal family, "importing false computer data" in a way "likely to damage national security or cause public panic", and disseminating computer data "that may affect national security",

 

 

Sort of catch all! Fairly typical.

[unicorn]

I just looked up that Paul Chambers on Google Images:

He reminds me of Littleface from those Dick Tracy comics...