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BANGKOK, Oct. 27 (Reuters): A Thai appeals court on Tuesday dropped charges against a television reporter who had been sentenced to two years in prison for defaming a chicken farm on Twitter.
Suchanee Cloitre was convicted in December 2019 for a post on Twitter regarding a legal dispute over working conditions at the Thammakaset farm.
In a statement, the court ruled that while some of his words had been inappropriate, he had done nothing wrong.
“As a member of the press and a citizen, the accused has the right to investigate, criticize and express an opinion that is in the public interest,” he said.
Suchanee, who had been out on bail, told Reuters she was “very relieved.”
His Twitter post focused on a complaint that a group of migrant workers from Myanmar submitted to Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission about conditions at the chicken farm in 2016.
Thammakaset, who has denied the allegations from the start, has filed multiple lawsuits against journalists and activists over the case.
Representatives for the farm could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday. – Reuters
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