Thailand Is Clamping Down on Critics of the Monarchy
Paul Chambers, an eminent US scholar of Thailand, has been arrested on charges of criticizing the Thai monarchy. Chambers is one of the most high-profile targets of a clampdown on dissent against the world’s richest king.
Riot police stand guard next to a portrait of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn as pro-democracy protesters take part in an anti-government demonstration in Bangkok on November 8, 2020. (Mladen Antonov / AFP via Getty Images)
On Tuesday, April 8, 2025, Dr Paul Chambers responded to an arrest warrant at a local police station in Phitsanulok, northern Thailand. The warrant had been issued on March 31 and there was no previous warning or summons to appear.
He was promptly arrested for allegedly violating Section 112 of the Criminal Code, commonly known as the lèse-majesté law, and violation of the Computer Crimes Act. The crime of insulting the monarch can result in fifteen years in prison per offense.
Thailand’s Third Army Region reportedly filed the complaint against Chambers, a US citizen. The Phitsanulok Provincial Court subsequently denied him bail and ordered that he be detained while his lawyers appeal the court’s decision.
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