Oklahoma man discusses Thai prison, fight for freedom

Paul Chambers is acclimating to life back in the United States after spending more than 30 years as a professor and researcher in Thailand. 

In April, the Thai military charged him with insulting the king. They cited his participation in a webinar in October. 

“I had gone to this webinar and given some discussion about Thailand’s military and politics, which was pretty average in terms of my discussion,” Chambers explained. “But not long after that, just a few days after that, actually, there was a Thai newspaper report stating that I had insulted the king and that I should be fired from my university.” 

The alleged crime is difficult to compare to in the Western world. It is considered one of the most serious offenses anyone can commit in Thailand. 

Chambers spent two days and one night in a Thai prison. Word grew fast among the inmates, and a guard insinuated to Chambers that he might not survive. 

“First off, my wife, she was organizing support in Thailand,” he said. “She got this Thai lawyer’s organization called Thai Lawyers for Human Rights to Help Me. Then, outside of prison, my brother organized international support.” 

His brother, Kit Chambers, previously spoke with News 9 while he was on house arrest after being granted bail. 

Their mother, OU professor Peggy Chambers, led an effort to write letters to several politicians. 

“Ambassador Robert Godec in Bangkok he went out of his way to really help me,” Chambers said. “And the day I was in prison, on April 9, 8, and 9 — the U.S. State Department publicly warned Thailand, saying that Washington was alarmed at my case.” 

But despite eventually being granted house arrest, the threat of returning to prison and being killed continued to loom over Chambers. 

He credited the Trump administration, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Ambassador Godec, Global Reach, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, his family, Senator Lankford and Senator Coryn for pushing for his release. 

“Probably because it was during the time that I was having my ordeal that Thailand was trying to have lower tariffs from the Trump administration, the Thai government wanted to make us a gesture of friendship and let me go free,” he suspects. 

While glad to be free from the threat of prison or death, Chambers is now separated from his Thai wife and a career that was built on decades of experience in Thai culture and politics. 

“I became an example to Thais and non-Thais: ‘Don’t go too far, we’re even willing to arrest an American, even under when Trump is President,’” he said. 

Charges against Chambers were dropped at the beginning of May, and he eventually left the country on May 29. He reunited with his brother and mother in Italy before eventually returning to the U.S. 

“From hell to heaven,” Chambers said. 

Chambers said he and his wife will continue to see each other, but likely in other countries. He hopes he can one day return to Thailand. But he noted the military and civilian government are undergoing a period of change that makes his return extremely unlikely.