Thai prosecutors dismissed charges against an American academic accused of insulting the country’s monarchy, after his arrest was criticized by the United States and cast a shadow over tariff talks.
Prosecutors dropped royal insult and computer crime charges against Paul Chambers (pic), a lecturer at Naresuan University in northern Phitsanulok province, and will inform police of the decision pending any objection, the Office of the Attorney General in a statement Thursday.
No clear reasons were cited in the statement for the decision.
Chambers, who has lived in Thailand for more than 30 years, was accused by a regional army unit of breaking the royal insult, or lese majeste, law over comments about the powers of the prime minister and the monarchy in a blurb promoting an international webinar last October where he was a speaker.
Chambers has denied the charge.
The case is seen as linked to a delay in talks between Thailand and the United States on reducing a Trump administration plan to slap a 36% tariff on the South-East Asian nation’s exports.
Talks initially slated for late April were postponed after Washington asked Bangkok to address a set of “issues” related to trade.
The extent of the issues have not been made clear by Thai officials, and no new date has been set for talks to be held.
The US Department of State said in a statement on April 8 that it was alarmed by his arrest and the case reinforced its longstanding concerns about the use of the lese majeste law in Thailand.
The term refers to Article 112 of the Thai criminal code, which punishes anyone who “defames, insults or threatens” Thailand’s king, queen, heir-apparent or regent by up to 15 years in prison.
Chambers, an expert on the Thai armed forces, was released from pre-trial detention on bail days after being arrested.
The bail conditions included a ban on overseas travel without the court’s permission and confiscation of his passport. He was also required to wear an electronic monitoring device around his ankle. — Bloomberg
