BANGKOK (AFP) – A US academic charged with breaking Thailand’s strict royal defamation laws will appeal against a decision to revoke his visa, his lawyers said Thursday, after he was released on bail of THB300,000 (USD8,800).
Paul Chambers, who has spent decades in Thailand and is currently a lecturer in Southeast 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 on Wednesday, 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 Thursday.
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.
