British academic removed from blacklist after 4 days at Thai airport

Wyn Ellis spend four days at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Pic: Wyn Ellis.

By Kyle Lawrence Mullin Sep 08, 2015

Academic rivalries and accusations of plagiarism rarely make international news. But that’s what unfolded at a Bangkok airport on Thursday, when British academic and agricultural consultant Wyn Ellis, a resident in Thailand, was refused entry to the country because of a years-long plagiarism dispute that left him branded a “danger to Thai society”.

Ellis spent four days in the transit section of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport after refusing to return to Europe, opting instead to stay in the airport until the matter was resolved.

He was finally allowed to re-enter Thailand Monday night:

Wyn Ellis @WynBkk

Pleased to report that I am now out of custody and back in my in my home in Bangkok Yessss!! Pls send pics.

3:58 PM - 7 Sep 2015 · Chom Phon, Bangkok, ประเทศไทย

 

Ellis’s problems originate from a row with a Thai official which began nine years ago that led to him being added to a Thai immigration blacklist. In 2006 Ellis made complaints that the then head of Thailand’s National Innovation Agency (NIA) Supachai Lorlowhakarn had plagiarized much of his doctorate dissertation from early research that Ellis had conducted on asparagus.

After a series of legal battles, Supachai was stripped of his doctorate by Chulalongkorn University and was convicted of criminal forgery in 2012. He was also fired from his position as director the NIA.

The matter appeared to have been resolved, but on Thursday Ellis — who is married to a Thai academic — was told he could not enter Thailand after disembarking from a flight from Europe. Immigration officers showed him a letter sent from Supachai in 2009 that accused Ellis of forgery, stealing government documents, and being an overall “danger to Thai society.”

The Financial Times called the incident a “microcosm” of how the Thai elite are abusing the legal system by targeting opponents. That article also noted that Ellis’s detainment might may also be attributed, in part, to heightened security in the wake of last month’s bomb attack in Bangkok.

The half week of airport confinement proved frustrating for Ellis, who told the FT: “It seems everything we try to do, there’s an obstacle,” before calling the bureaucratic hurdles “Kafkaesque”.

He did, however, clarify in a Facebook post that he was not technically “detained”, as was widely reported in the media, but chose to stay in the airport.

“It was entirely my choice to stay to clear the situation locally. So, I want to make it clear I was never kept locked up by the Immigration Dept; this was my choice to remain so I could clear my name from the blacklist,” he wrote Monday night.

He added that he was allowed to work in an immigration official’s office and was provided with “excellent” food and “REAL coffee” by immigration staff.

When Ellis was eventually released Monday, he expressed relief and gratitude, tweeting:

Wyn Ellis @WynBkk

OUT!!! So I am 'persona grata' again in THA. Thanks to Thai govt for removing me from the Immig Blacklist, and thanks also to all supporters

3:29 PM - 7 Sep 2015

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Ellis again praised immigration staff in a Facebook post after his release: “I must say the Immigration staff at the airport were professional, sympathetic and helpful. They really worked to take care of me and did their level best to seek solutions.“