Thailand: BBC Journalist, British Expat Plead Not Guilty to Defamation

A Bangkok-based British correspondent for BBC News pleaded not guilty Thursday to criminal defamation stemming from his report about a man losing his property on Phuket island through alleged fraud.

Southeast Asia correspondent Jonathan Head faces a defamation charge brought against him by Thai lawyer Pratuan Thanarak, who appeared in a BBC TV segment narrated by Head that aired in September 2015, along with a charge under Thailand’s Computer Crimes Act.

If convicted of both charges, Head could face up to seven years in prison. Unlike most countries where defamation is a civil offense, people in Thailand can file criminal defamation charges.

Head’s co-defendant, Briton Ian Rance, the former director of a property company for foreign retirees, was charged with criminal defamation and faces up to two years behind bars.

“We have done nothing wrong and yet I am the one in court, prosecuted by a private individual, far away from where I now live for the sake of safety, in a court in a province where I do not feel safe, and on a criminal charge that has a prison term,” Rance told BenarNews.

Head and Rance appeared in a Phuket court on Thursday.

“We certainly pleaded not guilty,” Rance said. “It must be remembered that I came to Thailand with a substantial investment, a foreign investor in fact.”

Head told BenarNews he could not comment on the case, but his news organization issued a statement in support of his report.

“The BBC stands by its journalism and we will fight the allegations made against our correspondent by these proceedings. We have full faith in the Thai justice system, and we intend to clear the name of our correspondent. We will not be making any further statements at this time,” said the statement made available to the media.

Full story: BenarNews

BenarNews staff
Bangkok