BANGKOK, May 1, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Thai prosecutors dropped royal defamation charges on Thursday against an American scholar accused of insulting the monarchy over an article published on a political website.

Paul Chambers -- a longtime Southeast Asia politics scholar in Thailand -- was arrested last month in Phitsanulok province, north of Bangkok, under the kingdom's strict lese-majeste laws.

The case marked a rare instance of a foreign national being charged under Thailand's lese-majeste law, which bans criticism of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family and carries sentences of up to 15 years in jail per offence.

The Office of the Attorney-General said on Thursday it had decided "not to indict" Chambers.

"The director-general had decided not to indict the suspect," the statement said, adding that prosecutors would seek to dismiss the case in court and coordinate with police.