Giles Ji Ungpakorn, a political science professor, said he was formally charged under the kingdom's harsh lese majeste laws protecting the monarchy from defamation. The academic told AFP he was was charged over "the content of my anti-military coup book, 'A Coup for the Rich.'" "The charges seem to have arisen out of a complaint made by the Chulalongkorn University book shop to the police," said Giles, a Thai national who teaches there. The book is about the bloodless military putsch in 2006 which toppled then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who now lives in exile to avoid a jail sentence for corruption. Giles has frequently commented on and written about the royal family's role in politics -- a highly sensitive matter in Thailand, where opposing political factions frequently claim the support of the crown. He has 20 days to make a statement to the police, who will then decide whether to forward the case to the courts for trial. There was no immediate comment from police. The move comes a day after Australian author Harry Nicolaides was sentenced to three years in prison by a Bangkok court after...