After Suchart Chomklin, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, brought criminal defamation lawsuits against two journalists who reported about a bribery case, Human Rights Watch calls for a stronger anti-SLAPP protections, noting that the apparent aim of such lawsuits is intimidation and that they undermine freedom of expression.

Hathairat Phaholtap, editor-in-chief of The Isaan Record, filed a petition with a Senate standing committee and MPs from the People’s Party to call for an investigation into SLAPP lawsuits by politicians.

Hathairat Phaholtap, editor-in-chief of The Isaan Record, has been sued for defamation by Deputy Prime Minister Suchart Chomklin over an investigative report citing a statement from sources in the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) that Thai politicians have been taking bribe from a former executive of a Finnish berry company.

<p>The Isaan Record, an online media organization based in Khon Kaen Province, is under surveillance by police officers. This is not the first time, and it occurs after they report on monarchy reform and anti-dictatorship activities which other media find distasteful.</p>

<p>As journalists are not exempt from the 10pm - 4am nationwide curfew, some face a difficult time trying to do their job and are upset by the stance taken by the Thai Journalists Association. There are calls for a more friendly policy toward the media during the outbreak.</p>

<p style="margin: 0px 0px 17px; font-family: Arial;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(35, 35, 35);">Yukti Mukdawijitra is one of the dissidents who fled the country right after the coup. The Thammasat anthropologist said his role as an anti-coup, pro-democracy activist</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(35, 35, 35);">&nbsp;and campaigner against Article 112 or the lèse majesté law made him feel it was unsafe to stay in the country.&nbsp;</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(35, 35, 35);">Yukti, who is now a fellow at U of Wisconsin at Madison discusses the junta’s campaign to crack down on lèse majesté and the outlook for the country after the coup.</span></p> <p></p>