A US academic living in Thailand was arrested Tuesday on charges of insulting the Southeast Asian country's powerful monarchy.

Paul Chambers, who teaches political science at Naresuan University in northern Thailand, reported to a police station in the northern province of Phitsanulok, about 360 kilometers (224 miles) north of Bangkok.

Chambers had been summoned by police last week to hear the charges after a complaint was filed by the Thai Army.

What has Chambers been charged with?

A Phitsanulok police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the US scholar had reported to the precinct to acknowledge two charges: insulting or defaming the monarchy, and a computer crime violation related to online activity.

Chambers was then taken to Phitsanulok Provincial Court for a pretrial detention hearing, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR).

Wannaphat Jenroumjit, a lawyer for TLHR representing Chambers, said the charges were related to an online seminar where the US scholar appeared as a speaker. Chambers has denied all the charges.

TLHR also stated that Chambers had been denied bail. No trial date has been set yet.

What are Thailand's laws protecting the monarchy?

Thailand has some of the world's strictest laws shielding the monarchy from criticism or defamation.

Under Article 112 of the Thai criminal code, anyone found guilty of insulting, defaming or threatening the king, queen or their heirs faces between three and 15 years in prison.

The law has been increasingly used in recent years to clamp down on those who took part in pro-democracy, anti-monarchy protests that swept the nation in 2020.

Since then, some 279 people have been charged with lese-majeste, according to TLHR.

Several prominent protest leaders have been imprisoned, but it is very rare for a foreigner to be charged under Article 112.

According to Human Rights Watch, Thai authorities are known to "restrict fundamental rights — particularly freedom of expression and peaceful assembly — using lèse-majesté (insulting the monarchy), sedition, and cyber-crime laws."

Chambers, who has lived in Thailand for years, specializes in studying the influence of the Thai military, which plays a prominent role in the nation's politics.

Military leaders have staged 13 successful coups — including one in 2014 — since the country became a constitutional monarchy in 1932.

Edited by: Louis Oelofse