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The
Observatory has been informed about the judicial harassment of Ms
Chutima
Sidasathian,
community rights and anti-corruption advocate. Chutima Sidasathian is
an investigative journalist and documentary producer on human rights
issues. She was a former investigative journalist for the online news
outlet Phuketwan.
On
March 6, 2024, the Nakhon Ratchasima Provincial Court is expected to
deliver its verdict in the criminal defamation case against Chutima
Sidasathian. Ms Chutima has been charged with three counts of
criminal defamation, under Articles 326 and 328 of Thailand’s
Criminal
Code,
for exposing allegations of corruption involving a local public
official. If found guilty, Ms Chutima could face up to two years in
prison and a fine of up to 200,000 Baht (approximately 5,140 Euros)
for each count. In addition, the plaintiff also requested 100,000
Baht (approximately 2,570 Euros) in damage compensation.
On
May 27, 2022, Thanonthorn Kaveekitrattana, the head of the
sub-district municipality of Banlang, Nakhon Ratchasima Province,
filed a criminal defamation lawsuit against Chutima Sidasathian at
Nonthai police station in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, after she
exposed his alleged involvement in misappropriation and other
irregularities in microcredit monies loaned by Thailand’s National
Village and Urban Community Fund (Village Fund) through the
state-owned Government Savings Bank (GSB) in three Facebook posts in
February and April 2022. The posts referred to the corruption scandal
and alleged mismanagement of community affairs by Thanonthorn
Kaveekitrattana. In December 2022, Nakhon Ratchasima Provincial
Public Prosecutor indicted Chutima Sidasathian on charges of criminal
defamation, and on January 26, 2023, the court hearings started.
Since
2021, Chutima Sidasathian has investigated challenges faced by 16
villages in Nakhon Ratchasima Province in connection with a community
banking scheme, designed to lend money to villagers at advantageous
rates. She was able to document that many villagers had never
received the loans, even though the GSB was taking legal action
against them to recover the loans. She began posting information on
Facebook and helped villagers, many of whom faced financial ruin, to
find legal representatives to seek remedies. In
addition, Chutima Sidasathian filed complaints with relevant
government agencies, including the National Anti-Corruption
Commission (NACC), the Office of the Ombudsman, the Department of
Special Investigation (DSI), and the National Human Rights Commission
of Thailand (NHRCT), to seek an investigation into allegations of
corruption.
In
October 2023, the NHRCT acknowledged the cases against Chutima
Sidasathian as
strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP). In December
2023, the District Chief Officer,
whose investigation was prompted by the NACC, issued a general
finding of “no criminal activity,” reportedly without
interviewing villagers. The Ombudsman and DSI’s investigations are
ongoing.
In
December 2023, a Special Commission of Investigation was established
under the state-backed microcredit program Village Fund to
investigate the alleged corruption. This investigation is also
ongoing.
The
GSB’s investigation established that resident in 16 villages
received only 12 million baht (approximately 308,000 Euros) of the
original 45 million baht (approximately 1,13 million Euros) in loans.
GSB has yet to inform the public as to what happened to the other 33
million baht (approximately 822,000 Euros). Chutima Sidasathian
claims she found evidence that a certain amount of the loans was
transferred to Thanonthorn Kaveekitrattana’s personal bank account.
Chutima
Sidasathian is facing six more charges of criminal defamation in four
cases in connection with four other Facebook posts published in June
2023. All of the cases stem from the Facebook posts in which she
accused the local authorities of corruption. All complaints against
her were all filed by Thanonthorn Kaveekitrattana. At the time of
publication of this Urgent Appeal, these four new cases were still at
the indictment stage.
The
Observatory recalls that in 2013, Chutima Sidasathian was accused of
criminal defamation against the Thai Navy, after publishing an
article on Phuketwan’s
website that contained a paragraph reproduced from a Pulitzer
award-winning Reuters
article, which alleged that “Thai naval forces” were complicit in
the smuggling of persecuted Rohingya minority from Myanmar. In 2015,
she was acquitted
of all charges.
The
Observatory denounces the multiple criminal proceedings against
Chutima Sidasathian, which appear to be in clear retaliation against
the peaceful exercise of her right to freedom of expression, and
constitute SLAPPs.
The
Observatory urges the authorities in Thailand to drop all charges
against Chutima Sidasathian and put an end to any act of judicial
harassment against her and all other human rights defenders in the
country.
The
Observatory further calls on the authorities in Thailand to refrain
from using strategic lawsuits against public participation to target
criminalise human rights defenders, as well as to guarantee, in all
circumstances, the right to freedom of expression, as enshrined in
international human rights law, in particular in Article 19 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
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