Overview
- Thailand's Office of the Attorney General announced it will not pursue lese-majesté and computer crime charges against Paul Chambers, an American academic.
- Chambers, a lecturer at Naresuan University, was arrested in April after a complaint by a regional army unit over comments related to a 2024 academic seminar.
- The U.S. State Department had expressed alarm over the case, which delayed planned U.S.–Thailand trade talks over human rights concerns.
- Chambers spent a day in detention, was released on bail with an ankle monitor, and had his Thai work visa revoked, which he is now appealing.
- The case highlights tensions surrounding Thailand’s strict lese-majesté law, which carries penalties of up to 15 years in prison, and its implications for free speech and academic freedom.