Phuketwan not guilty on all counts in Thai Navy defamation trial

[Toknarok]

Well done!!! very good news amidst a sea of smoke and mirrors in Thailand

CONGRATULATIONS go celebrate a victory for decency, honour and integrity

SHAME on you Thai Navy and SHAME on this government for supporting such a vindictive prosecution

And shame on the last government too, for supporting the charges which were laid during their administration; and also using these laws to suppress free speech they didn't like.

Not one government has seen anything wrong with these laws, or sought to amend them. Wonder how convenient that is.

The charges against Phuketwan were laid on 19 December 2013. I don't know of you remember what was happening at that time. Suthep and his thugs were running amuck in Bangkok. Then we had the failed election and then the coup. I doubt very much that a defamation case before the Thai Courts was foremost in Yingluck's mind at the time.

[Assurancetourix]

Great news ; I'm happy for them ;

hope Andy Hall will have the same " No guilty " by the court in a few weeks .

[ChrisY1]

This is great news......so pleased for these 2 that they were proved completely innocent.

I for one, was very sceptical and believed that a Thai judge would not rule against the RTN......a good time for me to have been wrong!

[Saan]

A great result for Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian. Congratulations.

Might even be good news for journalism in Thailand.

[The Beguiled]

It is great news and a relief for Chutima and Alan who have had many sleepless nights wondering if justice will prevail.

Congratulations for their fortitude.

[EnglishJohn]

Good, I hope there are no appeals against the ruling.

Great news!

While this looks surprisingly like justice, the fact that the charges were laid in the first place proves this government is as bad as all others before it.

The charges were laid during the previous government...

- nice one. Anyone feeling like a whining schoolboy now ?. Or like stupid schoolboys for clicking 'like' ?.

[webfact]

Court Dismisses Charges Against Phuketwan Journalists
By Khaosod English


Alan Morison, left, and Chutimas Sidasathian outside a Phuket provincial court where they were acquitted of all charges against them this morning.

PHUKET — A provincial court in Phuket dismissed all charges against two journalists on trial for a news report about human trafficking in the south of Thailand.

Chutimas Sidasathian and her Australian colleague, Alan Morison, were acquitted this morning of both a criminal defamation charge brought by the Royal Thai Navy and a count of violating the Computer Crime Act for publishing a July 2013 report about human trafficking that included a paragraph implicating unnamed navy personnel.

“I am happy that the court has done its duty perfectly,” Chutimas said, applauding the court for applying the letter and spirit of the law. “It’s benefits the freedom of expression of Thai media, foreign media and the people. … I also believe that this case will have a positive outcome on other ongoing lawsuits in libel and Computer Crime Act charges.”

The court ruled that the text published in Phuketwan was not libelous, because it was done to serve a compelling public interest and not a personal attack.

Charges under Thailand’s criminal defamation statute are notoriously difficult to defend against, as truth is not an absolute defense. Truth can only be used as a defense in matters deemed to serve a compelling public interest.

Chutimas said the court recognized that the offending passage in the report was excerpted from Reuters, which the court acknowledged as a reputable international wire service.

As for the computer crimes charge, the court ruled it was a misapplication of the law, saying the report was not false, did not affect national security and did not defame the navy’s reputation, as charged.

Chutimas said a representative from the Royal Thai Navy, which brought the suit against her and Morison, showed up just after the verdict was read.

“He congratulated me," she said. "I think this verdict benefits everyone.”

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1441081382

-- Khaosod English 2015-09-01

[The Deerhunter]

Good, I hope there are no appeals against the ruling.

Great news!

While this looks surprisingly like justice, the fact that the charges were laid in the first place proves this government is as bad as all others before it.

The charges were laid during the previous government...

The article states that "The complaint related to an article published by on the Phuketwan website in July last year." - if that is the case, then the charges were laid under the current government.

Interesting, that. In July last year, all branches of the armed forces might have though they were in the driving seat at that stage. It turns out that only one is. However international pressures owing to recent revelations might have tempered the court decision. The Koh Tau murders; Slavery camp mass graves; fishing rules re equipment & manning issues; handling of Chinese/muslim terrorists; Police pocketing the reward money; illegal logging; ivory smuggling routes; airport safety; aircraft safety; not to mention deck chairs and on-going beach and forest encroachments. Sometimes it must just look like everyone is against them and claiming "you don't understand Thai-ism" or that "everyone is out of step except our Johnny" just isn't cutting it any more with the important International forum.

There has to be a point in some of these matters where the "powers-that-be" try to minimize ongoing international opprobrium and just pass a note under the table to the judiciary.

May it happen again & more often. The defamation statutes are just one example of the several anachronisms of Thai Law are long past the axe-date in the view of world opinion.

[webfact]

Australian, Thai journalists acquitted of defaming Thai navy
PAPITCHAYA BOONNGOK, Associated Press

PHUKET, Thailand (AP) — An Australian journalist and his Thai colleague were acquitted Tuesday in a criminal defamation lawsuit filed by Thailand's navy over an online news report about the trafficking of refugees from Myanmar.

Human Rights Groups immediately welcomed the acquittal but said the case should never have been brought in the first place.

Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian were facing up to seven years in prison over a report in their online news website "Phuketwan" saying military forces accepted money to assist or turn a blind eye to the trafficking of refugees from Myanmar by sea.

They were charged with criminal defamation and offences under the draconian Computer Crimes Act.

"This is a fantastic day for us, to be free of the weight of this charge," Morison said outside the court, on the island of Phuket. "I think it's an important result for Thai media and for the media in general."

The contested report on the Phuketwan website was excerpted from an extensive story published by the Reuters news agency in July 2013. The Reuters story was part of a series that won the news agency the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting.

The case had drawn widespread criticism from human rights and press freedom groups around the world.

"The acquittal of these two journalists is a positive decision, but the fact is that they should never have had to stand trial in the first place," said Josef Benedict, the regional representative for Amnesty International. "Thai authorities have again shown their disregard for freedom of expression by pursuing this case."

The case came to trial following the discovery in May of dozens of bodies buried at several jungle camps on the Thai-Malaysian border where traffickers held migrants as prisoners. Many of the migrants are ethnic Rohingya from Myanmar who face persecution at home. In many cases, the migrants pay to be smuggled by ship, but are then detained by traffickers in Thailand who hold them until their families pay ransoms.

Human rights activists and foreign governments have long accused Thai authorities of collusion in the trafficking industry, but police, military and government officials deny the allegations.

However, the recent publicity about the camps prompted a Thai government crackdown on trafficking, and several dozen people were arrested, including a Thai army general and local officials.

The U.S. State Department in July said it was keeping Thailand on its human trafficking blacklist and retained Thailand's Tier 3 ranking, the lowest ranking in its annual Trafficking in Persons report. The ranking designates Thailand as a country that has not made sufficient progress in tackling human trafficking.

It cited persistent forced labor and sex trafficking and recommended that Thailand stop bringing criminal defamation cases against researchers or journalists who report on human trafficking.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-09-01

[JoePai]

Great news

[doggie1955]

Wait!.....Thailand has a Navy?

[Chang_paarp]

Good for them!

If the verdict stands justice has been done.

Just remember their "crime" was to quote 41 (or so) words from a Reuters article that won the writer an international award. The navy took on the small local publication not the international news organization that wrote the offending item. Reuters left them to face the music without ant support in spite of Chutimas Sidasathian helping the journalist with access to local people and knowlege in the research stage of the piece.

[Morakot]

Good news!

Justice pervaded. Brave effort facing this ordeal.

[ZuluSixNine]

Alan Morison looks like he hasn't has a bath or a change of clothes since 1973

​Just my opinion

[MZurf]

Well done!!! very good news amidst a sea of smoke and mirrors in Thailand

CONGRATULATIONS go celebrate a victory for decency, honour and integrity

SHAME on you Thai Navy and SHAME on this government for supporting such a vindictive prosecution

And shame on the last government too, for supporting the charges which were laid during their administration; and also using these laws to suppress free speech they didn't like.

Not one government has seen anything wrong with these laws, or sought to amend them. Wonder how convenient that is.

The charges against Phuketwan were laid on 19 December 2013. I don't know of you remember what was happening at that time. Suthep and his thugs were running amuck in Bangkok. Then we had the failed election and then the coup. I doubt very much that a defamation case before the Thai Courts was foremost in Yingluck's mind at the time.

Doesn't really matter as the Thai navy has never answered to elected governments anyway.

[RedZPhuket]

[15Peter20]

Let's hope Andy Hall also gets justice, as these two have done. Congratulations.

[Tapster]

As a new expat in Thailand, I've been watching this closely and with no optimism regarding a positive outcome.

I couldn't be happier with this result, and what a relief for those two this morning. I mean, I'm feeling great so I can't imagine how they must be feeling!

[WhizBang]

So, let me ask the Royal Thai Navy this: Who has caused the navy greater loss of face, these journalists and their article, or the Thai Navy itself for trying to sue them?

Anyway, GREAT NEWS. I admit I am surprised, but guess that the fallout from convicting them would have been too much for Thailand to bear at the moment.

[Petmag]

Well done you two, congratulations..

[steveromagnino]

Good, I hope there are no appeals against the ruling.

Great news!

While this looks surprisingly like justice, the fact that the charges were laid in the first place proves this government is as bad as all others before it.

The charges were laid during the previous government...

The article states that "The complaint related to an article published by on the Phuketwan website in July last year." - if that is the case, then the charges were laid under the current government.

Interesting, that. In July last year, all branches of the armed forces might have though they were in the driving seat at that stage. It turns out that only one is.

Again, read the thread - this relates to a news article in 2013 that was reprinted, and the original charges were filed in the Yingluck government era. However, I for one see ZERO BENEFIT in having the government of the day being able to step in whenever they want and squash or support legal actions - the judiciary, the executive and the legislature should not be able to lean on eachother to get what they want.

Of course...in this case the evidence was pretty questionable from the beginning, but it is not the place of the PM to act as the judge here. Imagine what a precedent that would create for actions like corruption etc. You can trace a lot of Thailand's problems to the way a former PM leaned on the judiciary to issue a favourable decision in the asset concealment case.

Very happy to see a just decision handed down in this case though :-).

[WhizBang]

Alan Morison looks like he hasn't has a bath or a change of clothes since 1973

​Just my opinion

Best to keep opinions like that to yourself.

[Equalizer]

I don't know why everyone is thinking this has had a successful ending. This will be appealed with success, a new trial and new judge will see things different. These hounds can come back and bite your ass years into the future.

[kannot]

how much will the navy have to pay them for slurring their good name though???

[VINCENT2012]

treating them as if they were a bunch of Navy conscripts

well after that court news, i guess now they are "a bunch of Navy conscripts",....... and they deserve that jornalist objective critic and that all people, foerign or thai knows what they did. .....human traffic for money.

shame on them and on all who does directly or indirectly, help, participe, or actually are parts of that more than primitive ugly, slavery business.

[Transporter]

Good, I hope there are no appeals against the ruling.

Great news!

While this looks surprisingly like justice, the fact that the charges were laid in the first place proves this government is as bad as all others before it.

The charges were laid during the previous government...

the SAME Navy that supported and supports the unelected Junta who could have stopped it. Stop making cheap political points this is GREAT NEWS

Regardless of which government started it there is little to choose between them and it should have been stopped under the current government.

[Somtamnication]

Thailand is growing up!

[Thai at Heart]

Let's hope this forms just the tiniest precedent and sticks. Now for the pineapple mess to go away.

[mikiea]

Loss of face for the navy today.

Likely the navy will appeal the result and then if they lose the second court, they'll appeal to the supreme court.

you are so wrong ..... they will fear being face slapped again .....................

[pmugghc]

Oh no, this is bad news for the Thai-bashing brigade at TVF, they would have loved another reason to make their vile comments about Thailand.