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Media activist seeks to call Thai PM in libel case
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Media activist seeks to call Thai PM in libel case
Lawyers defending a Thai media activist want Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to testify in a high-profile criminal libel case pitting her against a company controlled by Thaksin’s family.
The case filed by Shin Corp, Thailand’s biggest telecoms firm, against Supinya Klangnarong and a Thai newspaper began on Monday with statements filed in court.
“The Prime Minister and his family are the people who are directly involved in this case. Therefore, they must come to court for the public’s understanding,” said a statement filed by Supinya’s lawyer, Nakohn Chompuchart.
Shin Corp, founded by Thaksin 20 years ago, is suing over an article in the Thai Post in July 2003 in which Supinya suggested the company was a major beneficiary of government policies. Both Thaksin and the firm deny the charge.
Supinya also faces a civil libel case seeking 400 million baht ($10 million) which is due to open in October. Lawyers for Shin Corp did not speak to reporters after the criminal case was adjourned to July next year.
Thaksin, a telecoms tycoon who swept to power at the head of the Thai Rak Thai party in 2001, was among 50 witnesses listed by the defence. The court will decide if Thaksin must testify. The cases have drawn an outcry from domestic and international rights and media bodies who say that they threaten basic rights of free expression and publication.
“Supinya Klangnarong and the editors of the Thai Post newspaper now face possible jail terms and financial sanctions under a backward and unnecessary law that runs contrary to the direction of all international standards and the national constitution,” said the Asian Human Rights Commission. Thaksin, who never hesitates to lash out at his critics, said last week that he respected media freedom as long as it did not violate the rights of others.
<B>Sasithorn Simaporn</B>
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