(Read the full letter on APSA)
"On behalf of the American Political Science Association (APSA), we express our grave concern over the arrest and detention of Dr. Paul Chambers, a political scientist and American academic at Naresuan University in Thailand, on April 8, 2025, under Section 112 (lèse-majesté) of Thailand’s Criminal Code. Although Dr. Chambers is currently out on bail, his visa has been revoked, his passport confiscated, and his laptop seized. These bail conditions severely restrict his rights and freedom to continue his academic career.
We urge the Thai government to uphold the right to freedom of expression and academic freedom, as guaranteed under the Thai Constitution and the country’s international obligations. The American Political Science Association represents over 10,000 U.S. and internationally based professors, practitioners, and students of political science, including scholars within Thailand.
Dr. Chambers is a lecturer at the Center of ASEAN Community Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Naresuan University. His research, which examines the power and influence of the military in Thailand and the evolving nature of civil-military relations over the past fifteen years, is highly regarded. Dr. Chambers has lived in Thailand since 1993. While there is no law forbidding criticism of the Thai military, Article 112 has increasingly been used to silence academics in recent years. Dr. Chambers is the first non-Thai academic to face such charges.
APSA is deeply concerned about the criminal investigation of a scholar in connection to his academic research and nonviolent extramural expression. These activities are expressly protected by international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Thailand is a party. We fear that the proceedings against Dr. Chambers will have a chilling effect on public discourse and academic freedoms for other scholars within Thailand and beyond.
We respectfully request that all charges against Dr. Chambers be dismissed as a clear demonstration of Thailand’s commitment to academic freedom, free inquiry, and expression. These principles are fundamental to quality higher education and are essential elements of a free, stable, and prosperous society. "
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