Fortify Rights welcomes a decision yesterday by a Thai criminal court in Bangkok to dismiss criminal defamation complaints against Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS) and four journalists who worked with Thai PBS. The defendants faced criminal defamation and other charges for reporting on allegations of adverse environmental impacts connected to a controversial gold mine in northeast Thailand.
“The Court’s dismissal of this case puts Thailand on the right path to ensure press freedoms and protect journalists from unwarranted legal action,” said Amy Smith, Executive Director of Fortify Rights. “Thailand still has a long way to go to meet its obligations under international law to guarantee freedom of expression.”
Fortify Rights called on Thailand to immediately decriminalize defamation and ensure journalists and human rights defenders are able to engage in their legitimate work.
Tungkum Limited, a gold-mining company, lodged the complaint against Thai PBS alleging that Thai PBS damaged the reputation of the company when it reported on allegations of adverse environmental impacts connected to the company’s open-pit gold mine in Loei Province in northeastern Thailand.
Fortify Rights and members of the Youth Leadership for Social Change, a network of youth working for social justice issues in Thailand, observed the court hearing yesterday.
In reading its decision, the Criminal Court in Bangkok found that the complaint lacked merit, saying that Thai PBS and its journalists acted professionally and relied on credible sources, including the findings from government agencies and local villagers. The Court also cited Section 329(3) of the Thai Criminal Code, which provides that opinions or statements made in good faith and subject to public criticism shall not be guilty of defamation. The Court noted that natural resources and the environment are matters within the public’s interest, particularly with regard to impacts on peoples’ lives and livelihoods.
On November 16, the Thai criminal court in Bangkok dismissed criminal defamation complaints brought forward by the gold-mining company Tungkum Ltd. against former Director General of Thai PBS Ms. Wirada Saelim and three of her colleagues.
“It’s important that legal proceedings are not used to silence criticism or restrict the right to freedom of expression,” said Sor Rattanamanee Polkla, a human rights lawyer from the Community Resources Centre Foundation representing Thai PBS staff. “The Court’s decision endorsed the essential functions of the media to report critical information to the public, such as information on natural resources and the environment.”
Lawyers from the Community Resources Centre Foundation are also providing legal representation to several environmental rights defenders facing legal actions brought by Tungkum Ltd.
Tungkum Ltd. has brought at least 19 criminal and civil lawsuits against 33 villagers, including members of the Khon Rak Ban Kerd Group (KRBKG)—a group of villagers from six communities surrounding mining area committed to defending the local environment from negative impacts of the gold mine—in the past seven years. Through these lawsuits, the company has sought 320 million Thai Baht (US$9 million) from villagers in Loei. Currently, six criminal and civil cases involving at least 25 villagers are pending.
The company has one month to appeal the Court’s decision in the Thai PBS case.
“Tungkum should withdraw all other unwarranted complaints against environmental defenders and respect human rights,” said Amy Smith. “Thailand and its business interests can only benefit from ensuring the right to freedom of expression.”
Background
On November 12, 2015, Tungkum Ltd., a Thai registered gold-mining company, filed complaints against journalist Ms. Wirada Saelim; then-Director General of Thai PBS Mr. Somchai Suwanbun; Mr. Korkhet Chantalertluk, Director of the News Department at Thai PBS; Mr. Yothin Sitthibodeekul, Director of the Television and Radio Department at Thai PBS; and Thai PBS itself.
The complaint alleges that content of a citizen-journalist news clip damaged the reputation of the company. The disputed news clip reported allegations of adverse environmental impacts connected to the company’s open-pit gold mine in Loei Province in northeastern Thailand. Thai PBS and its journalists faced potential charges of criminal defamation under the Thai Criminal Code and the Computer-related Crime Act as well as other charges.
The company is seeking 50 million Thai Baht (US$1.4 million) in compensation as well as the revocation of Thai PBS’s operating license for five years.
Isaan voters have a long track record of their candidates winning and then eventually losing. Northeasterners picked parties whose leaders became prime ministers in 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, and 2014. But they lost to coups (twice), court rulings (two or three times), and election annulments (twice). The overwhelming choice of Isaan voters (and the majority of voters throughout the country) now face a new challenge: an unelected Senate. Will its beloved Pheu Thai Party rise to the occasion and save democracy? Or will it take the premiership and break the pro-democratic bloc? Does it have any choice?
Natticha Nasee shares her journey of reclaiming her identity in Thailand after growing up in Nepal, where she was labeled a foreigner. A growing disconnect from her Thai heritage and loss of cultural ties compel her to return to Thailand and enroll at Khon Kaen University. There, Natticha finds reintegrating into Thai society doesn’t go as hoped, and she is soon labeled foreigner again due to her unfamiliarity with the language as well as simple cultural norms, like how to eat mu kata. Frustrated by again being treated as an outsider, Natticha eventually navigates the blurred lines between being both farang noi and Thai to make peace with her complex identity through the connections she forms and the enduring bonds of family.
Isaan would not be in poverty if the central government distributed administrative power to localities and was more careful in how it imposed development policies and projects in the region. The series “What will Isaan people get from the 2023 elections?” looks back on how Isaan has been left out in such policy making processes, and what can be done to resolve the issue.
While Tha Rae district in Sakon Nakhon province is well known for having the biggest Catholic community in Thailand, the district may perhaps be even better known for a darker history as the former heart of the dog meat trade in Southeast Asia. Although most residents of Tha Rae no longer eat dog meat and the tradition has died down due to the influence of Buddhism, some locals in Sakon Nakhon’s Tha Rae district still consume it. This raises the question: “Man’s best friend or favorite meal?” Isaan Record intern, Russell Chapman, goes to Sakon Nakhon to explore the issue.
