20 November 2025 – Being A Foreign Academic Imprisoned in Thailand

Description

What is it like to be wrongfully accused and imprisoned on political charges in Thailand? In this lecture, Dr Paul Chambers, a foreign academic living in Thailand for over thirty years, discusses his experience being the first foreign academic to be wrongfully accused and imprisoned for violating Section 112 (lèse-majesté) of Thailand’s Criminal Code and Computer Crimes Act. He was later forced to wear an electronic ankle bracelet, his passport was taken, and his visa was revoked by the state. He was then dismissed from his job as an Instructor in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Naresuan University. The charges against him were eventually dropped and he was able to depart Thailand on May 29, 2025. However, his visa remains revoked and he has not been reinstated at Naresuan University. Military officials have continued to insist that they will find and bring new charges against him.