BBC journalist on trial for Thailand crime reporting

obelisks · Post by **obelisks** » Wed Aug 23, 2017 4:16 pm

PHUKET, Thailand - A British BBC journalist appeared in a Thai court on Wednesday for the start of a criminal defamation trial brought by a lawyer who featured in an investigation about foreigners being scammed of their retirement homes.

Jonathan Head, the BBC's Southeast Asia correspondent, faces up to five years in jail at the private prosecution on the popular tourist island of Phuket
Rights groups have said the case exposes how Thailand's broad defamation and computer crime laws scupper investigative journalism and make it difficult to uncover wrongdoing in an endemically corrupt country.

The prosecution was sparked by a 2015 report by Head detailing how two foreign retirees had Phuket properties stolen from them by a network of criminals and corrupt officials.

One of the victims, British national Ian Rance, is a joint defendant in the prosecution. Both have pleaded not guilty.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/ ... l/30324659

I hope the BBC exposes to the world how screwed up Thailand justice system really is through this case. A country where rich people can kill a policeman and get away with it but a poor couple pick mushrooms in a protected forest and get sent to jail for five years.

CEOCambodiaNews · Post by **CEOCambodiaNews** » Wed Aug 23, 2017 4:36 pm

Previous on this, and other media problems in Thailand:
thailand-news-and-discussion/bbc-journa ... ?hilit=BBC

soup · Post by **soup** » Wed Aug 23, 2017 4:54 pm

Ian is a part of this case because he 'liked' something on social media.

It really is a shit case!

CEOCambodiaNews · Post by **CEOCambodiaNews** » Wed Aug 23, 2017 5:57 pm

What's at stake ?

Rance and Head face one charge of criminal defamation, which carries up to two years in jail.

Head faces an additional charge under Thailand's Computer Crimes Act, a broadly-worded law which forbids uploading "false data" online and carries a five-year maximum jail penalty.

Unlike most countries where defamation is a civil crime, in Thailand it is a criminal offence.

Private citizens can also launch their own prosecutions and they are not forced to pay costs if they lose.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/ ... l/30324659

obelisks · Post by **obelisks** » Wed Aug 23, 2017 5:58 pm

soup wrote: ↑Wed Aug 23, 2017 4:54 pm Ian is a part of this case because he 'liked' something on social media.

It really is a shit case!

Ian who? Are you talking about Ian Rance? he is one of the two victims that Jonathan Head was trying to report on
He is also a co-defendant with Jonathan Head in this case because he alleges that the parties BBC were trying to interview played an integral part in
him losing £2 million worth of real estate.
So you rush around trying to recover your stolen money and in the process you get accused of being a criminal yourself through criminal defamation!
There are no words to describe the injustice of this

mauser765 · Post by **mauser765** » Wed Aug 23, 2017 6:21 pm

obelisks wrote: ↑Wed Aug 23, 2017 5:58 pmThere are no words to describe the injustice of this

Yes there are.

TiT.

soup · Post by **soup** » Wed Aug 23, 2017 7:51 pm

obelisks wrote: ↑Wed Aug 23, 2017 5:58 pm
soup wrote: ↑Wed Aug 23, 2017 4:54 pm Ian is a part of this case because he 'liked' something on social media.

It really is a shit case!
Ian who? Are you talking about Ian Rance? he is one of the two victims that Jonathan Head was trying to report on
He is also a co-defendant with Jonathan Head in this case because he alleges that the parties BBC were trying to interview played an integral part in
him losing £2 million worth of real estate.
So you rush around trying to recover your stolen money and in the process you get accused of being a criminal yourself through criminal defamation!
There are no words to describe the injustice of this

Yes, Ian Rance. He told me that the lawyer who brought this case was the same lawyer who forged his signature. TIT, and I'm elated that I'm out!

Barang_doa_slae · Post by **Barang_doa_slae** » Wed Aug 23, 2017 8:48 pm

Can't wait for Phuket Richard next rant on how better Thailand is compared to Kh.

phuketrichard · Post by **phuketrichard** » Thu Aug 24, 2017 9:41 am

To each their own

Charges have been withdrawn against a BBC journalist in a criminal defamation case in Thailand.

Jonathan Head faced up to five years in jail if he had been convicted.

He and a co-defendant appeared in court in Phuket at the start of the trial on Wednesday. Both pleaded not guilty.

"The plaintiff has withdrawn his case against BBC journalist Jonathan Head, but as the trial of his co-defendant is continuing, we cannot comment further at present," a BBC statement said.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41023226

In Cambodia i understand that the journalist are paid to NOT report the news

mauser765 · Post by **mauser765** » Thu Aug 24, 2017 12:36 pm

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2017 9:41 amIn Cambodia i understand that the journalist are paid to NOT report the news

It's not something that's peculiar to Cambodia, by any stretch of the imagination.

In how many countries is the news still not adjusted or censored due to financial interests?

If you've had the misfortune to have been watching CNN lately, they are living in a parallel universe of their own, where the only thing that matters is berating Trump.

PS my thumb slipped on the remote, I apologise.

BBC journalist on trial for Thailand crime reporting

BBC journalist on trial for Thailand crime reporting

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Re: BBC journalist on trial for Thailand crime reporting

Re: BBC journalist on trial for Thailand crime reporting

Re: BBC journalist on trial for Thailand crime reporting

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Re: BBC journalist on trial for Thailand crime reporting

Re: BBC journalist on trial for Thailand crime reporting

Re: BBC journalist on trial for Thailand crime reporting

Re: BBC journalist on trial for Thailand crime reporting

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