One of Thailand’s tallest French expats, Yan Marchal, has been denied return to Thailand. He is sent back to Paris from Bangkok because he is a long-standing critic of the Thai government and monarchy.
Monsieur Yan says he can appeal the ‘deportation’, however, I have been advised to fly back to France instead of exposing myself to legal risk during the appeal.”
Yan told Thai media that immigration police claimed he is a “threat to national security” because of his criticism of the monarchy, will be denied return to Thailand and will be forced to fly back to Paris.
One year ago, Yan was almost expelled from the country because of messages he posted on Facebook. Many of Yan’s recent Facebook posts are commentary regarding the Thai monarchy and the recent protests in Thailand.
During a visit to Thai immigration last November, Yan said he had visited immigration to transfer his stamp to a new passport but was told his visa had been revoked and the length of stay had now been exceeded.
“He told me I would be deported. The reason given was my Facebook activity. I could see he has a file with a detailed record of my messages, although he didn’t let me read the details.”
It’s not the first time his posts have caused problems. In 2019, Yan was visited by the police after a video mocking the National Council for Peace and Order. Yan apologized at the time and the video was removed.
But now these priors seem to be coming back to haunt the French citizen.
“I have not been able to contact my embassy, but I have been told they are aware of the matter. I knew this could happen, it’s not the first time I’ve run into problems (with Thai immigration).”
“Immigration officers said I attacked the king and caused trouble for the king.”
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