Bangkok:
His lawyer said that Thailand’s immigration officials on Wednesday canceled the visa of a prominent American scholar, who was detained a day earlier on allegations of royal defamation.
Paul Chambers, who spent teaching politics in Southeast Asia at Thai University for more than a decade, rejected their bail request after a court on Tuesday reported to the police to respond to a lace-mosque allegation by a court in Fitsanulok province.
His case is a rare example of foreign people of strict laws that molds King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family by any criticism and can lead to a prison sentence before decades.
“Immigration Police came to the custody center only this afternoon,” Vanafate Jenroumjeet said, “who is representing Thai lawyers for human rights (TLHR) and Chambers.”
The Thai army filed a complaint against Chambers on an article associated with a think-tank website earlier this year, focused on the politics of Southeast Asia.
“Immediately! The lawyers have been informed that the Immigration Police has canceled the visa of Paul Chambers,” TLHR posted on X.
The organization said that it would appeal to the decision of visa cancellation within 48 hours and continue efforts to secure the release of Chambers.
Vanafet told AFP that he had submitted a second bail request on Tuesday and was waiting for the court’s decision.
He said that Chambers Thai were “not convinced, but were expected”.
Chambers told AFP last week that they felt “intimidated” from the situation, but were being supported by the US embassy at the university and their colleagues.
The US State Department said on Tuesday that it was “worried” with arrests.
A researcher of Amnesty International, a researcher, who is campaigning for the release of political prisoners, said that the visa cancellation was for “intimidation” chambers.
“He threatened his work, so cancellation of his visa means that he can no longer live in Thailand and continue his work,” he told AFP.
“Visa cancellations can result in sending a message to foreign journalists and academics working in Thailand that can result from speaking about the monarchy.”
He said that the possibility being granted bail to the chambers seemed serious, a “pattern” was given in which people were charged under the Les-Majesty laws, rarely granted bail.
The International Guard has expressed concern over the use of laws – known as Article 112 – against academics, workers and even students.
In northern Thailand, a man was jailed for least 50 years for Les-Majesty last year, while a woman found 43 years in 2021.
In 2023, a person was jailed for two years to sell a satirical calendar characterized by a rubber duck for two years, in which a court said that the king was discredited.
(This story is not edited by NDTV employees and auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)