Hello and welcome to the details of US academic to appeal visa revocation after arrest for lese-majeste in Thailand and now with the details
Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Strict laws shield King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family from any criticism and can lead to decades-long prison sentences. — Reuters pic
BANGKOK, April 10 — A US academic charged with breaking Thailand’s strict royal defamation laws will appeal against a decision to revoke his visa, his lawyers said today, after he was released on bail of 300,000 baht ($8,800).
Paul Chambers, who has spent decades in Thailand and is currently a lecturer in South-east Asian politics at a provincial 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.
Chambers was granted bail on the criminal case yesterday but was kept in custody until late in the evening while his lawyers negotiated with immigration authorities on his visa status.
“His legal team plan to appeal the visa revocation,” said the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights group, representing Chambers, in a post on X early today.
The Thai military filed a complaint against Chambers earlier this year over a blurb posted online for a podcast hosted by a think-tank website which focuses on Southeast Asian politics.
Chanatip Tatiyakaroonwong, a researcher at Amnesty International who campaigns for the release of political prisoners, said the visa revocation was meant to “intimidate”.
“The visa revocation is meant to send a message to foreign journalists and academics working in Thailand, that speaking about the monarchy could lead to consequences,” he told AFP yesterday.
International watchdogs have expressed concern over the use of the laws — known as Article 112 — against academics, activists and even students.
One man in northern Thailand was jailed for at least 50 years for lese-majeste last year, while a woman got 43 years in 2021.
In 2023, a man was jailed for two years for selling satirical calendars featuring rubber ducks that a court said defamed the king. — AFP
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