Thailand drops royal insult case against US academic
A royal insult prosecution against an American academic in Thailand has been dropped, as authorities confirmed Paul Chambers had left the country.
Chambers, 58, a political science lecturer, had been in legal limbo since his arrest last month on a lese-majeste charge, which led to the loss of his job, his work visa and the seizure of his passport.
"I am relieved that this situation has been resolved. I have always had great respect for the Thai royal family and anyone who knows me understands that these charges were always based on false allegations by unnamed parties in the military," Chambers said in a statement.
Chambers, who first came to Thailand as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1993, said he was returning to the US but "will maintain my many friendships with the people of Thailand".
Thailand has one of the world's harshest lese-majeste laws, setting jail terms of up to 15 years for anyone convicted of defaming, insulting or threatening King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family.
The prosecutor earlier this month dropped the case against Chambers but police appealed that decision.
The attorney-general overruled the appeal earlier this week, said Chambers' lawyer, Wannaphat Jenroumjit.
"The case is now concluded," she said, adding that the legal team was appealing the revocation of his work visa.
The US State Department had expressed alarm at the arrest of Chambers, saying the case "reinforces our longstanding concerns about the use of lese-majeste laws in Thailand".
The charges against him, which came after a complaint by the royalist army, had stemmed from a blurb for an online academic seminar at which he was a speaker, according to his lawyers.
The blurb was posted last year on the website of a research institute based outside of Thailand.
Thailand's constitution enshrines the king in a position of "revered worship", and royalists regard the palace as sacrosanct.
A party that won the 2023 election was dissolved last year over its campaign to amend the lese-majeste law, under which more than 280 people have been charged since 2020, according to the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights legal aid group, which also represented Chambers.
Thai immigration police confirmed Chambers' passport had been returned to him and that he had left the country earlier on Thursday.
"The case is closed as the attorney-general decided to drop it," Police Major General Sarawut Khonyai, a commander of immigration police in northern Thailand, told Reuters.
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Across Australia, the new figures show that BYD has started out-selling the American car once thought to be the way forward for progressive Australians. According to the stats, Australians bought 9,577 Teslas in the first five months of this year but 15,199 BYDs. In the first five months of last year, the race was the other way round, with Tesla in the lead on 18,433 sales nationally and BYD on 7809. There are two other takeaways from the new industry figures: Another relative new-comer - Polestar - said its sales were growing substantially - up by 40 per cent in the first five months of this year compared to the same period last year. Polestar has substantial Chinese money behind it but its research and development is based in Sweden and the UK. 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The Advertiser
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She told the crowd to "shut up", received a code violation for whacking a ball into the stands, burst into tears and forced her mother Raisa to leave her box. Roared on under the roof of Chatrier, Boisson won the final six games of the match Boisson, who suffered a career-threatening ACL injury before what was supposed to be her debut here last year, will be comfortably inside the top 100 after this fairytale run. Appropriately, on her right arm, she has a simple tattoo: RESILIENCE. But she is playing like a top-10 player. She has now beaten the third seed, Jessica Pegula, and the sixth. Second seed Coco Gauff awaits on Thursday for a place in the final. "It's incredible. Thank you for supporting me like this — I have no words," Boisson told a delirious home crowd. "I ran a bit too much because I was so tense early on," she said. "But I fought hard in that first set, which was so intense. At the start of the second, I felt a little empty, but I hung in there and finished the job." 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She told the crowd to "shut up", received a code violation for whacking a ball into the stands, burst into tears and forced her mother Raisa to leave her box. Roared on under the roof of Chatrier, Boisson won the final six games of the match Boisson, who suffered a career-threatening ACL injury before what was supposed to be her debut here last year, will be comfortably inside the top 100 after this fairytale run. Appropriately, on her right arm, she has a simple tattoo: RESILIENCE. But she is playing like a top-10 player. She has now beaten the third seed, Jessica Pegula, and the sixth. Second seed Coco Gauff awaits on Thursday for a place in the final. "It's incredible. Thank you for supporting me like this — I have no words," Boisson told a delirious home crowd. "I ran a bit too much because I was so tense early on," she said. "But I fought hard in that first set, which was so intense. At the start of the second, I felt a little empty, but I hung in there and finished the job." Earlier, Gauff huffed and puffed to a 6-7 (8-6) 6-4 6-1 victory against fellow American Madison Keys in a error-strewn match both players will want to forget quickly. More than half of Gauff's points came from the Australian Open champion's mistakes and the world No.2 got away with a total of 10 double faults. Altogether there were over a 100 errors. The 21-year-old will need to make dramatic adjustments when she faces Boisson for a place in Sunday's final. Keys, who was looking to reach the last four at Roland Garros for the second time after 2018, bowed out with her 60th unforced error to end a forgettable contest. "I'm happy to get through this match today, I have a lot more work to do, I'll be ready tomorrow," Gauff said. Gauff, who reached the final here in 2022, is the youngest woman to claim 25 main-draw wins at Roland Garros since Martina Hingis (1995-2000). While the quality was patchy at best, the drama was undeniable, with momentum swinging wildly. In the end, Keys edged the tiebreaker in the first set as Gauff double-faulted three times. Things did not get better in the second set. "So many unforced errors," Gauff said on court, in one of the understatements of the season. She levelled the contest as Keys looked out of sorts and cantered through the decider. With PA
Sky News AU
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