A rights group is calling for a gold mining corporation in Loei to drop defamation cases lodged against several parties that include a 15-year-old schoolgirl.
The cases were lodged after she alleged in a news report aired by Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS) that the firm's activities were adversely affecting local communities.
Fortify Rights said if the company refused to drop the cases, it would risk damaging its own reputation for trying to persecute a child and rights defenders.
The Bangkok Criminal Court has scheduled a preliminary hearing on March 21 to consider the charges filed by Tungkum Ltd, the mine operator, against a Mathayom 4 student, whose name has been withheld, Thai PBS and four current and former employees.
Tungkum has also filed a separate civil defamation suit against six villagers for erecting signs protesting against a controversial mine in their community.
This 50-million-baht suit began yesterday in the Loei Provincial Court and will continue Feb 24 through to Feb 26.
Tungkum is seeking the revocation of Thai PBS’s operating licence for five years, alleging the news report damaged the company’s reputation and credibility.
On Sept 1, 2015, Thai PBS aired a citizen-journalist news clip about a youth camp that was raising awareness about environmental protection in Wang Saphung district of Loei province.
A 15-year-old schoolgirl at the youth camp narrated the Thai PBS news clip in which she alleged six villages and the environment in the vicinity of the gold mine had been badly impacted by Tungkum's gold mining activities.
“These cases typify the egregious use of criminal defamation in Thailand to silence critics and human rights defenders,” said Amy Smith, executive director of Southeast Asia-based Fortify Rights which is registered in Switzerland and the US.
She called on Thai authorities and Tungkum to withdraw the complaints.