Phuketwan duo get to provide their defence
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Two journalists of the English-language website Phuketwan took to the stand at the Phuket Provincial Court Wednesday to defend the right to exercise their freedom of expression by reporting on the Navy's role in the trafficking of Rohingya migrants.
Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian were given a chance to speak up for themselves as the case against them entered the second day Wednesday. They face charges of defamation and computer crime for quoting an investigative report by Reuters saying that some Navy officials were involved in the trafficking of Rohingya migrants.
Their lawyer Siriwan Wongkiartpaisan said the journalists defended their case on grounds of media freedom, insisting that there intention was not to insult the Royal Thai Navy, but to just shed light on the role of some officials.
The lawyer said that if anybody’s reputation was damaged, it was that of the officials rather than the Royal Thai Navy itself, hence there was no point in the Navy suing them for defamation.
