Bangkok, Paris, 9 April 2025. On the morning of 8 April 2025, police in Phitsanulok Province arrested Paul Chambers, a lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Naresuan University in Phitsanulok Province. Mr. Chambers had voluntarily reported himself to the Phitsanulok police station in response to an arrest warrant issued by the Phitsanulok Provincial Court on 31 March 2025 for alleged violations of Article 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code (lèse-majesté) and Article 14(1) of the Computer Crimes Act. [1]
Two bail applications filed by Mr. Chambers later the same day were promptly rejected by the Phitsanulok Provincial Court, which cited the severity of the punishment for the alleged offenses, the foreign nationality of the accused, and the police’s objection to Mr. Chambers’ bail application as the reasons for the rejection. Paul Chambers is currently held in pre-trial detention in Phitsanulok Provincial Prison.
"The shocking and arbitrary detention of Mr. Chambers shows that the abuse of Article 112 is alive and well in Thailand. Thai authorities must drop all charges against Mr. Chambers, immediately and unconditionally release him, and guarantee the right to freedom of expression in accordance with international human rights law", says FIDH Vice-President Fatia Maulidiyanti.
The charges against Mr. Chambers stem from a complaint filed by the Thai Army’s Third Army Area, headquartered in Phitsanulok Province. The complaint was in relation to the publication of a webinar description on the website of Singapore’s ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute on 11 October 2024. The webinar, titled "Thailand’s 2024 Military and Police Reshuffles: What Do They Mean?", featured Paul Chambers as the speaker. The webinar description alluded to the potential links between the Thai monarchy and the annual appointment of high-ranking military and police officials. Mr. Chambers maintains that he neither wrote nor published the webinar description, and that he had no control over the website on which it was published.
Mr. Chambers is among the 31 individuals (including three women) currently incarcerated under Article 112. Twelve of them (including three women and one minor) have been serving prison terms of up to 54 years after being convicted of lèse-majesté.
In June 2015, FIDH published a report that documented how Article 112 considerably limited creative expression regarding the Thai monarchy and led to the imprisonment of several artists and writers, in violation of Thailand’s obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Thailand is a state party to the ICESCR.
Following the publication of FIDH’s report, the United Nations (UN) Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) expressed concern over the "adverse effect of the excessive interpretation" of lèse-majesté on the enjoyment of the right of everyone to take part in cultural life. The committee recommended that Article 112 be amended with a view to ensure "clarity and unambiguity regarding the prohibited acts and that any sanctions are strictly proportionate to the harm caused."
FIDH, UCL and TLHR call on the Thai authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Paul Chamber and drop all charges against him and all other individuals, including human rights defenders, who are arbitrarily deprived of their liberty under Article 112.
In addition, FIDH, UCL, and TLHR reiterate their calls for the amendment of Article 112 to bring it into line with the provisions of international human rights treaties to which Thailand is a state party, Including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the ICESCR.