Pavin’s Book of King Vajiralongkorn is Banned in Thailand

Thailand’s Police Department issued an order dated 19 June 2023 banning the import into Thailand of a book by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, founder of 112WATCH. This order was published in the Royal Gazette dated 7 July 2023. Pavin’s book is titled, “Rama X: The Thai Monarchy under King Vajiralongkorn,” published by Yale Southeast Asia Studies. The police’s order reads, “This book by Pavin presents its cover and contents which reflect the attitude of the author deemed insulting to the Thai monarchy and threatening to the peace and good morality of the people.” Anyone importing this book into Thailand and disseminating it could be imprisoned up to 3 years and fined up to 60,000 baht, or both.

This book is about the early reign of King Vajiralongkorn who was enthroned in October 2016 following the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It is likely that given the book being banned, Pavin could be charged with lese-majeste for publishing this book.