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.

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.

Kowit Phothisan, The Isaan Record’s editor, has been sued for defamation by Deputy Prime Minister Suchart Chomklin over a Facebook post he shared. The post was originally written by The Isaan Record’s editor-in-chief Hathairat Phaholtap, whom Suchart previously sued over a report alleging that Thai politicians have been taking bribes from a former executive of a Finnish berry-picking company.

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.

A reporter for the Khon Kaen-based news outlet Isaan Record was visited on Saturday (15 February) by police officers who said they were ordered to monitor royal defamation defendants.

<p>Khon Kaen University has terminated the work permit of David Eirich Streckfuss, an independent academic who oversees the Council on International Educational Exchange programme at the University. The decision reportedly came after police visited the University President and Faculty Dean, after Streckfuss participated in a workshop which partly involved decentralization.</p>

<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>The Thai military prohibited discussants at a public forum in Isaan, Thailand’s northeast, to talk about politics, referendum, and the lèse majesté law. The authorities however ironically allow them to talk about human right issues only.<br /></p>

<div>While Europe worries about trafficking and the so-called refugee crisis, Thai villagers are still building their hopes on women’s migration and labor abroad.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color:#ff8c00;"><img alt="" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7080/28011964415_736455a444_o.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 333px;" /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color:#ff8c00;">Isaan-natives Sommai, Basit, Kae and Mong are married to Danish men and are all living in Denmark where they work as cleaners, in the fishing industry or other </span></div>