Human Rights Watch is telling Thailand to back off from prosecuting Murray Hunter, an Australian reporter who got slapped with criminal defamation charges for trash-talking Malaysia's Communications and Multimedia Commission. The rights group says Thailand is basically doing Malaysia's dirty work by going after critics outside their borders, and they want Australia, plus other countries, to remind Thai officials how bad this looks.
Hunter got nabbed at Bangkok's airport while trying to catch a flight to Hong Kong, spent a day locked up, and then made bail. Authorities grabbed his passport to keep him grounded. He's facing four defamation counts under Thailand's criminal code because he wrote Substack articles calling the MCMC an extra-judicial force that's wrecking democracy. Malaysian authorities already blocked his Substack domestically under their new internet censorship rules.
The prosecutor claims Hunter's writing could make the commission lose its reputation and get hated by regular people. If convicted, Hunter could do eight years in prison plus pay a massive fine. His next court hearing is coming up in late December.
Hunter got nabbed at Bangkok's airport while trying to catch a flight to Hong Kong, spent a day locked up, and then made bail. Authorities grabbed his passport to keep him grounded. He's facing four defamation counts under Thailand's criminal code because he wrote Substack articles calling the MCMC an extra-judicial force that's wrecking democracy. Malaysian authorities already blocked his Substack domestically under their new internet censorship rules.
The prosecutor claims Hunter's writing could make the commission lose its reputation and get hated by regular people. If convicted, Hunter could do eight years in prison plus pay a massive fine. His next court hearing is coming up in late December.
