Two journalists are on trial in the southern Thai island of Phuket for allegedly defaming the Thai navy.
Their charges stem from a July 2013 online article which included a paragraph, originally published by Reuters, on human trafficking.
Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian of website Phuketwan, who pleaded not guilty, face up to seven years in jail.
Reuters quoted an unnamed smuggler that Thai naval forces made money from turning a blind eye to trafficking.
Reuters has since won a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting on the Rohingya which included that particular article. The wire agency does not face any charges.
Officials arrested
The trial opened with a navy captain testifying he filed the defamation case on behalf of the navy, a lawyer representing the journalists told AFP news agency.
“He also confirmed that the Phuketwan quotes were lifted from [the] Reuters article,” the lawyer was quoted as saying.
The BBC’s Jonah Fisher says that despite its small size, Phuketwan has a well-earned reputation for reporting on the smuggling and abuse of Rohingya, who come from Myanmar (also known as Burma). Continue reading “Thailand: Reporters face defamation charges”
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