Editor's note: This story was updated at 11:16 a.m. on April 7 to add a statement from a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand.
The government of Thailand issued an arrest warrant Friday for OU alum Paul Chambers following a criminal complaint from the Thai army accusing him of insulting the country's monarchy.
Paul Chambers is being charged with violating the Computer Crime Act and the lèse-majesté, a law prohibiting people in Thailand from defaming, insulting or threatening the monarchy. He will appear in court to be formally charged on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.
While the warrant does not contain details of what Paul Chambers did to violate the law, he told The Associated Press he believes the charge is related to a webinar he hosted in October where he spoke about the military's influence in Thai politics.
“I’m basically in limbo because I can’t go anywhere. I’m not supposed to,” he told The Associated Press. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m kind of nervous.”
His mom, Peggy Chambers, an OU Classics and Letters professor, said Paul Chambers was aware of lèse-majesté law and would never have broken it by speaking against the Thai government. Paul was shocked by the charge, she said.
Paul Chambers grew up in Norman, graduating from Norman High School in 1984 and from OU in 1987 and 1988 with degrees in letters and Spanish.
Paul Chambers went to Thailand in 1993 with the U.S. Peace Corps. He is now a lecturer on international affairs at Naresuan University in Phitsanulok, Thailand. Paul Chambers has also taught at OU and Chiang Mai University in Thailand and was a senior research fellow at Heidelberg University in Germany, according to his curriculum vitae.
Peggy Chambers said it’s important to tell his story because as someone interested in constitutional studies, Paul Chambers cares a lot about freedoms.
“Academic freedom is something that all democratic societies need to have,” Peggy Chambers said. “It seems an assault against the university system.”
Paul Chambers’ brother, Kit, is contacting U.S. Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) in hopes they can urge the U.S. Embassy in Thailand to free his brother, according to a Facebook post by Paul Chambers’ sister-in-law on Friday.
“It is a ridiculous charge, and Paul says that he was simply stating facts in a webinar interview,” Kit Chambers wrote. “I don't believe that the timing of this is a coincidence with the US announcement of a 36% tariff on goods imported from Thailand.”
A state department spokesperson from the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand wrote in an email to OU Daily on Saturday that the safety of American citizens abroad is its highest priority, and the arrest warrant for Paul Chambers is concerning.
“The United States strongly supports freedom of expression around the world,” the statement read. “We regularly urge Thai authorities, both privately and publicly, to protect freedom of expression in accordance with Thailand’s international obligations.”
Paul Chambers specializes in Thai politics and has researched civil-military relations, according to 112Watch, a group that opposes lèse-majesté law in Thailand. The group condemns the allegation against him and believes his research about the monarchy’s relationship to the military prompted the charge.
Southeast Asian Human Rights Studies Network, an association that promotes human rights and academics in the region, wrote in a statement on Facebook that using criminal law against scholars and students disrupts academic integrity and freedom is essential in democracy.
“(Paul Chambers’) academic work has contributed to a better understanding of Thai social and political dynamics, and had inspired many lives of Thai students through teaching, research, and mentoring,” the statement read.
In Thailand, violating the lèse-majesté is punishable by three to 15 years in prison and is one of the harshest iterations of the law in the world, according to the Guardian. It is uncommon for lèse-majesté charges to be filed against a foreigner.
Human rights activists from the United Nations have called on Thailand to revise lèse-majesté laws because they silence voices and threaten democracy.
“Their increasingly harsh application has had the effect of chilling freedom of expression and further restricting civic space and the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms in Thailand,” a 2021 UN press release reads.
According to the press release, lèse-majesté sentences have increased since 2020 as well as the length of jail time. In January 2024, a man was sentenced to 50 years in prison for violating the law, the Guardian reported.
Paul Chambers is awaiting his court date at his home in Phitsanulok, his mom said.
“Thank you, everyone for standing in solidarity with me,” Paul Chambers wrote on Facebook.
This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure and Ana Barboza. Natalie Armour and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
