PHUKET: Talks are to be held tomorrow in Bangkok between the Royal Thai Navy and Phuketwan aimed at mediating a Phuket criminal defamation court action that also involves an alleged breach of the Computer Crimes Act.
The talks are to be held at the offices of the National Human Rights Commission, with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights providing a translator.
Journalists Chutima Sidasathian and Alan Morison were charged in December over the republication of a single Reuters 41-word paragraph, part of a news account extracted from a Reuters special report in a series of articles that won the Pulitzer prize for international news reporting last month.
Two Reuters journalists and the large international news agency are also in the process of being summoned to a police station on Phuket to answer charges over the same 41-word Pulitzer Prize winning paragraph.
Khun Chutima faces a maximum of seven years in jail while Morison, who has been charged as a co-author and as director of Phuketwan's parent company, faces 14 years in jail. The pair spent five hours in holding cells under Phuket Provincial Court last month during a hearing that saw them released on 100,000 baht bail each.
The trial of the pair is due to begin on Phuket on Monday.
''We are delighted to sit down with the Navy to try to find a solution to this action,'' Morison said today. ''We have always had the utmost respect for the Royal Thai Navy.
''Back in 2009, we defended the Navy against accusations that its vessels had been involved in the so-called 'pushbacks' of Rohingya boatpeople, many of whom died at sea.''
Human rights and media rights organisations around the world have suggested that the Royal Thai Navy should drop the charges against Phuketwan.
It's the first time the military has used the iniquitous Computer Crimes Act against a media organisation in Thailand.
Reuters has yet to defend Phuketwan over its republication of the 41-word Reuters paragraph but has promised to ''vigorously defend'' any action taken against Reuters.
If both actions were to proceed, the two court cases would take place at Phuket Provincial Court, with Reuters defending its 41-word paragraph in one case but not defending the same 41-word paragraph in the other involving Phuketwan.
''We will have to defend the Reuters paragraph on Reuters' behalf,'' Morison said today.
''Every organisation that republishes words from Reuters and other large news agencies around the world will be looking on to see what happens.
''We hope common sense prevails and both court actions cease.''
Khun Chutima and Morison are also scheduled to appear before Thailand's Law Reform Commission in Bangkok today.
Phuketwan has offered the Royal Thai Navy as much space in the online magazine as it requires to explain its actions or to deal with the broader issue of the treatment of Rohingya in Thailand.
Legal costs of Khun Chutima and Morison are being met by the London-based Media Legal Defence Initiative.
A group of lawyers have teamed up to provide legal counsel. They include the Human Rights Lawyers' Association, iLaw and SR Law.
The talks are to be held at the offices of the National Human Rights Commission, with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights providing a translator.
Journalists Chutima Sidasathian and Alan Morison were charged in December over the republication of a single Reuters 41-word paragraph, part of a news account extracted from a Reuters special report in a series of articles that won the Pulitzer prize for international news reporting last month.
Two Reuters journalists and the large international news agency are also in the process of being summoned to a police station on Phuket to answer charges over the same 41-word Pulitzer Prize winning paragraph.
Khun Chutima faces a maximum of seven years in jail while Morison, who has been charged as a co-author and as director of Phuketwan's parent company, faces 14 years in jail. The pair spent five hours in holding cells under Phuket Provincial Court last month during a hearing that saw them released on 100,000 baht bail each.
The trial of the pair is due to begin on Phuket on Monday.
''We are delighted to sit down with the Navy to try to find a solution to this action,'' Morison said today. ''We have always had the utmost respect for the Royal Thai Navy.
''Back in 2009, we defended the Navy against accusations that its vessels had been involved in the so-called 'pushbacks' of Rohingya boatpeople, many of whom died at sea.''
Human rights and media rights organisations around the world have suggested that the Royal Thai Navy should drop the charges against Phuketwan.
It's the first time the military has used the iniquitous Computer Crimes Act against a media organisation in Thailand.
Reuters has yet to defend Phuketwan over its republication of the 41-word Reuters paragraph but has promised to ''vigorously defend'' any action taken against Reuters.
If both actions were to proceed, the two court cases would take place at Phuket Provincial Court, with Reuters defending its 41-word paragraph in one case but not defending the same 41-word paragraph in the other involving Phuketwan.
''We will have to defend the Reuters paragraph on Reuters' behalf,'' Morison said today.
''Every organisation that republishes words from Reuters and other large news agencies around the world will be looking on to see what happens.
''We hope common sense prevails and both court actions cease.''
Khun Chutima and Morison are also scheduled to appear before Thailand's Law Reform Commission in Bangkok today.
Phuketwan has offered the Royal Thai Navy as much space in the online magazine as it requires to explain its actions or to deal with the broader issue of the treatment of Rohingya in Thailand.
Legal costs of Khun Chutima and Morison are being met by the London-based Media Legal Defence Initiative.
A group of lawyers have teamed up to provide legal counsel. They include the Human Rights Lawyers' Association, iLaw and SR Law.
I hope that commonsense and pragmatism prevail.
Posted by Terry on May 22, 2014 12:32