Thailand-based American scholar Paul Chambers faces expulsion from the country he has long called home, after falling foul of the strict royal defamation law.
Chambers’ visa was revoked by the Immigration Bureau after he was charged with lese majeste and computer crime on Tuesday (April 8) following a complaint filed by Thailand’s Third Army Region. His lawyers said he was appealing the decision, fearing it could lead to his deportation.
The lecturer at Naresuan University’s Faculty of Social Sciences in Phitsanulok province was granted bail on surety of 300,000 baht on Thursday after spending two days in detention. The Phitsanulok court ordered him to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and report to the Immigration Bureau every 30 days.
Denying charges
Chambers, 58, is accused of 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 – an offence under the Computer Crime Act.
The charges stem from his participation in an online seminar hosted by Singaporean think tank the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute last October. Chambers spoke on Thailand’s military and police reshuffles in 2024 and also discussed democratisation and the military’s role in society.
Critics claim promotional blurb for the event contained words offensive to the Thai monarchy, but Chambers denied either writing or publishing the content. The statement in question has since been revised.
CNN reported that Chambers feared he “could be imprisoned for 15 years”. Article 112 of the Criminal Code stipulates that defaming, insulting or threatening the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent is punishable by three to 15 years in prison.
Drawing flak
The legal action against Chambers has sparked concern both in Thailand and abroad, led by the US State Department and international organisations.
On Wednesday (April 9), the US Embassy in Bangkok stated it was “alarmed” and was “closely monitoring” the situation, adding that the US State Department was liaising with Thai authorities over Chambers’ case.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch condemned Chambers’ arrest and demanded his immediate release, calling the case “a serious threat to academic freedom”. Amnesty International called for respect for freedom of expression as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and protected by the Thai Constitution.
The House of Representatives’ committee on military affairs has scheduled a debate on Chambers’ case for April 24. The Third Army Region, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, Naresuan University’s Faculty of Social Sciences, and the US Embassy have been invited to join the debate.
A prolific academic
Chambers, a native of Oklahoma in the US, earned a PhD in political science from Northern Illinois University in 2003.
He has lived in Thailand since 1993, teaching and researching on Thai politics. His research studies also cover civil-military relations in Southeast Asia, and regional politics, democratisation and security issues.
Chambers currently serves as lecturer and adviser for international affairs at Naresuan University’s Centre of ASEAN Community Studies (CACS). His Thai wife, Asst Prof Napisa Waitoolkiat, is the dean of the institute’s Faculty of Social Sciences and the CACS director.
ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s website lists Chambers as a visiting fellow on its Thailand Studies Programme, with proposed research projects on Thai military and national politics.
Chambers regularly offers analysis and opinions on Southeast Asia for various media outlets.
He was a senior research fellow at Heidelberg University in Germany from 2008 to 2011, a research fellow at the German Institute of Global and Area Studies in Hamburg from 2013 to 2020, and a visiting research scholar at Kyoto University’s Centre of Southeast Asian Studies in Japan in 2020. He previously served as director of research at Chiang Mai University’s Institute of Southeast Asian Affairs.
Chambers has written or co-written five books and more than 70 academic articles about Southeast Asia's military, democratisation, and political affairs.
He has also co-edited multiple books, including “Khaki Capital: The Political Economy of the Military in Southeast Asia” and “Democratization Interrupted: The Parallel State and the Demise of Democracy in Thailand”, as well as journals such as “Asian Affairs: An American Review” and “Intra-party Factionalism in Southeast Asia”.
