The Chonburi Provincial Court has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed against journalist Kowit Photisan, editor of The Isaan Record, by Deputy Prime Minister Suchart Chomklin for sharing a Facebook post.

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Thai politician Suchart Chomklin to immediately drop his criminal defamation lawsuit against Kowit Phothisan, editor of the independent online outlet The Isaan Record, and on Thai authorities to strengthen protections against strategic lawsuits targeting journalists.

Attacks on journalists and journalism are proliferating across the world. UNESCO’s most recent report on global trends in freedom of expression reveals a 10% decline in freedom of expression worldwide since 2012, a setback comparable only to three other periods – World War I, the prelude to World War II, and the late 1970s Cold War period.

Thailand has been ranked 92nd in Reporters Without Borders (RSF)’s 2026 World Press Freedom Index, 7 places below its 2025 ranking, and is now rated as “difficult.”

Amnesty International Thailand has submitted 3,008 signatures and statements to the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok in support of its “Write for Rights” campaign to demand the release of photojournalist Sai Zaw Thaike, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison with hard labour for reporting on the aftermath of Cyclone Mocha.

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.

16 media organizations and civil society organizations have issued a joint statement demanding that the Cambodian government release and drop charges against two journalists, Phorn Sopheap and Pheap Pheara, who were sentenced to 14 years in prison on charges of supplying a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defence.

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.

The Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) has sued several citizens for sedition and membership of an unlawful secret society after they attempted to decode the QR codes printed on the ballot papers to demonstrate a lack of transparency in the 2026 general election.

The Supreme Administrative Court accepted a lawsuit filed by an online news agency over police violence against reporters during the 18 November 2022 crackdown on anti-government demonstrators, overturning an earlier Administrative Court ruling dismissing the lawsuit.

A defamation lawsuit filed against Australian journalist Murray Hunter by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has been dropped following a mediation session on 16 February.