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Thai state prosecutors announced on Thursday they would not pursue royal defamation charges against an American political science lecturer at Naresuan University who was arrested on April 8 for allegedly violating Thailand’s lese majeste law, according to local media.
The attorney general’s office said it had decided “not to indict” the individual, a 58-year-old man who has been identified as Paul Chambers. The Phitsanulok provincial prosecutor will file a motion for Chambers’ release with the Phitsanulok Provincial Court, and the case file will be forwarded to the commissioner of Provincial Police Region 6 for a determination on whether to challenge the non-prosecution order under Article 145/1 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The prosecutors’ statement gave no reason for their decision other than saying they believed the evidence did not meet the guidelines for enforcing an action under Section 112 of the Criminal Code, or the the royal defamation law.
The case, originally filed by Col Mongkol Veerasiri with the Muang Phitsanulok Police Station, accused Chambers of defaming, insulting, or expressing hostility toward the King, Queen, heir-apparent, or regent. The complaint reportedly centered on a notice for an academic webinar organized by the Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore regarding Thailand’s military and police, though Chambers said he neither wrote nor published the text. The allegations also included importing false information into a computer system likely to affect national security or cause public panic, offenses under Articles 14(2) and 20 of the Computer Crime Act 2007.
Chambers spent two nights in jail before being released on bail. His conditions included wearing an ankle monitor, which the appellate court permitted him to take off on Wednesday after having been originally refused by the provincial court, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
Thailand’s lese majeste law carries severe penalties of three to 15 years imprisonment per offense for criticizing the Thai king and royal family. Multiple human rights groups have raised alarms about the law’s enforcement against scholars, activists, and students.
In 2023, a Thai national received a two-year prison sentence for selling humorous calendars that displayed rubber ducks, which a court determined were derogatory towards the monarchy. In other cases, harsher sentences have been imposed, including one individual who received a 50-year term last year.
While prosecutors suggested that the charges be dropped, the provincial court and regional police may still review the case before it is officially dismissed. The case has potentially impacted international relations. With trade discussions between Thailand and the United States having been postponed indefinitely, there is now speculation regarding diplomatic tension between the two nations
The post Thailand prosecutors decline to indict US professor on royal defamation allegations appeared first on JURIST - News.
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The attorney general’s office said it had decided “not to indict” the individual, a 58-year-old man who has been identified as Paul Chambers. The Phitsanulok provincial prosecutor will file a motion for Chambers’ release with the Phitsanulok Provincial Court, and the case file will be forwarded to the commissioner of Provincial Police Region 6 for a determination on whether to challenge the non-prosecution order under Article 145/1 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The prosecutors’ statement gave no reason for their decision other than saying they believed the evidence did not meet the guidelines for enforcing an action under Section 112 of the Criminal Code, or the the royal defamation law.
The case, originally filed by Col Mongkol Veerasiri with the Muang Phitsanulok Police Station, accused Chambers of defaming, insulting, or expressing hostility toward the King, Queen, heir-apparent, or regent. The complaint reportedly centered on a notice for an academic webinar organized by the Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore regarding Thailand’s military and police, though Chambers said he neither wrote nor published the text. The allegations also included importing false information into a computer system likely to affect national security or cause public panic, offenses under Articles 14(2) and 20 of the Computer Crime Act 2007.
Chambers spent two nights in jail before being released on bail. His conditions included wearing an ankle monitor, which the appellate court permitted him to take off on Wednesday after having been originally refused by the provincial court, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
Thailand’s lese majeste law carries severe penalties of three to 15 years imprisonment per offense for criticizing the Thai king and royal family. Multiple human rights groups have raised alarms about the law’s enforcement against scholars, activists, and students.
In 2023, a Thai national received a two-year prison sentence for selling humorous calendars that displayed rubber ducks, which a court determined were derogatory towards the monarchy. In other cases, harsher sentences have been imposed, including one individual who received a 50-year term last year.
While prosecutors suggested that the charges be dropped, the provincial court and regional police may still review the case before it is officially dismissed. The case has potentially impacted international relations. With trade discussions between Thailand and the United States having been postponed indefinitely, there is now speculation regarding diplomatic tension between the two nations
The post Thailand prosecutors decline to indict US professor on royal defamation allegations appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.