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Court acquits Australian and Thai journalists of criminal defamation in ‘vitally important case’

Alan Morrison and Chutima SidasethianAn Australian journalist and a Thai journalist have both been acquitted of criminal defamation charges by a Phuket Court.

The Thai Navy took Australian Alan Morrison and and Thai Chutima Sidasethian to court over a republished Reuters report covering the smuggling of Rohingya migrants which suggested Thai Navy involvement. The Navy used a law known as the Computer Crimes Act to file a defamation suit against the pair.

Morrison and Sidasethian were acquitted by the Phuket Provincial Court today, with judge saying it is not appropriate for authorities to use the Computer Crimes Act as a way of punishing journalists for defamation as this law relates to hacking and malicious software.

In delivering his verdict, Justice Chaipthawat Chaya-ananphat said Sidasathian and Morrison were merely reporting what Reuters had already published and they were not their own words.

He also found that no damage was shown to the Royal Thai Navy and that the translation which referred to the Royal Thai Navy was a mistranslation.

The Australian union representing journalists, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA), the South East Asia Jounalist Unions and the International Federation of Journalists have welcomed the verdict in the long-running case, with the IFJ and SEAJU now calling on the South East Asian governments to immediately repeal all laws supporting criminal defamation across the region in support of press freedom.

Australia’s MEAA CEO, Paul Murphy, said in a statement: “This was a vitally important case. The use of criminal defamation laws to muzzle the media and stifle free expression is a real threat to public interest journalism. Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian should be applauded for their courageous news stories highlighting the plight of the Rohingya people. Instead, their lives and their work was thrown into upheaval for two years during this case.

“The fact that the Navy didn’t pursue Reuters but chose instead to go after these two journalists is indicative of a frightening attempt to intimidate, harass and silence local news media. Alan and Chutima were determined to take a stand for press freedom and the public’s right to know despite the prospect of seven years’ jail in a Thai prison. For that, we should all be grateful.”

The verdict follows on from from Morrison and Sidasethian  launching a 30-day campaign for press freedom in the run-up to World Media Freedom Day on May 3.

If the duo had been convicted they faced a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment and a fine.

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