The Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) has agreed to drop all defamation charges against three human rights activists after the two sides agreed to work together to prove 54 cases of alleged torture and human rights violations among security suspects in Isoc's custody.
The director of the Cross-Cultural Foundation, Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, Anchana Heemmina, founder of the Duay Jai Group, and Somchai Homla-or, a human rights lawyer, were facing criminal charges for violating Computer Crime Act by releasing a 2016 report that recounted allegations of torture by security forces in the southern border provinces.
Isoc said they reached the agreement with the three activists recently, who announced the decision at a press conference Tuesday.
Col Pramot Prom-in, spokesman for the Isoc's Region 4 forward command, said the Isoc had actually intended to withdraw the charges even before talking to the activists to resolve the conflict.
At any rate, after the talks, both sides agreed to set up a committee to investigate complaints about human rights violations to create "proper mechanisms" to prevent new cases of human rights violations, resolve alleged ones and jointly verify future reports about human rights violations, said Col Pramot.
Mr Somchai thanked the military and said he would submit future reports to verify the facts before releasing details to the public and work more closely with security officials.
"We don't want any side to use our report as a tool for their political benefit," he said.
Lt Gen Shinawat Maendech, deputy chief of the Isoc, said the talks between the Isoc and the activists weren't negotiations over the defamation suits but discussions as to how both sides would be able to work together in a peaceful manner.
"Writing reports about torture [of detained security suspects] is the right of NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and this agreement is not an attempt to censor such reports but only an effort to put in place a mechanism to probe such cases so the wrongdoers can be brought to justice and the victims are compensated," he said.
"If any case is proven, we have to fix it and prevent it from happening again," he said.
Ms Anchana also thanked the Isoc for its decision to drop the charges, saying she will continue fighting to protect human rights, while working more closely with state officials in handling human rights violation cases to prevent possible misunderstandings.
Ms Pornpen described this as a crucial lesson for all human rights activists, saying working together will ultimately benefit the public.
She said she would be more cautious and work with other parties when preparing reports.
Assoc Prof Gothom Arya, of the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies (IHRP) of Mahidol University, was also at the press conference.
Welcoming the decision, he said the reports did contain certain conflicting information. For instance, details about some suspects being stripped while being detained for questioning were not consistent in all reports, he said.
The UN Human Rights Office for South-East Asian, meanwhile, welcomed the decision by the military. "Today's developments are positive, and we encourage the government to take additional steps to strengthen measures to protect activists carrying out human rights reporting and monitoring," said Laurent Meillan, acting regional representative of the UN Human Rights Office.
He urged authorities to drop similar charges against other human rights defenders, including cases filed against prominent human rights lawyer Sirikan Charoensiri.