Thai court clears Australian writer in defamation case
A defamation case filed in Thailand by Malaysia’s telecommunications regulator against Australian writer Murray Hunter has been officially withdrawn from a Thai court following mediation, the man in question and his lawyer said.
The case caused concern among free speech advocates as it was seen as a form of cross-border crackdown.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission had already acknowledged in a statement earlier this month that it had reached a settlement agreement on January 12 and dropped the criminal investigation against Hunter.
It said it also dropped a civil lawsuit filed against Hunter in Malaysia.
Hunter was sued in connection with articles he published in the Substack online newsletter.
“The Malaysian government’s use of SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation) and willingness to resort to transnational pressure indicates a significant increase in its willingness to silence critical voices,” IFEX, an international coalition that promotes freedom of expression, said in a statement in November.
He said Malaysia’s use of criminal defamation laws to target individuals beyond its borders was worrying as it served to intimidate writers, artists and others from expressing views on matters of public interest and concern.
Groups protesting Hunter’s arrest included PEN International, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Although the entire mediation agreement is confidential, Hunter was able to tell The Associated Press some aspects that were already public.
He said he apologized and retracted about 10 articles, and that the charge against him was withdrawn at the Bangkok Southern Criminal Court with no costs or penalties.
The charge of defamation by publication is punishable by a maximum of two years in prison and a fine of 200,000 baht ($A9,079).
He also said that Substack has been unblocked in Malaysia.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said it could not make new comments on Monday’s hearing due to the Lunar New Year holiday in Malaysia.
Hunter, who lived in southern Thailand, was arrested at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on September 29, 2025, as he was about to board a flight to Hong Kong.
He was jailed for a night and then released on bail of 20,000 baht ($A908.73) and his passport was confiscated.
“I got my passport back and will be free to travel again in the next few days,” Hunter told the AP.
He said he was not entirely satisfied with the resolution of the case because he felt he had been treated unfairly under the law and that the general threat of such cases still existed.
He said he would stay in Thailand and was working on a book about the types of cases he faced.
Thai lawyer Akarachai Chaimaneekarakate, who assisted in Hunter’s defense, said he accepted the threat that international SLAPP cases were ongoing in Thailand.
He noted that in Hunter’s case, “process is punishment.”
