Supinya Acquitted!

Media reform activist Supinya Klangnarong and the Thai Post newspaper have been acquitted of libel against media giant Shin Corp in a Bangkok Criminal Court today.

WACC has supported Supinya, a WACC-Scholar, since the libel suit was filed against her two years ago after asking in an interview, published in the Thai Post, if Shin Corp had a mutually beneficial relationship with the Thaksin administration.

The decision ends the criminal case between Supinya, Secretary General of the Campaign for Popular Media Reform, and the media giant Shin Corp, which was owned until recently by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's family.

Shin lawyers offered to withdraw the suit if Supinya apologised for her comments, but she turned down the offer and called on the company to acknowledge the public's right to scrutinise its activities.

WACC's General Secretary The Rev. Randy Naylor, expressed gratitude to "all those who have joined with WACC in this long campaign to support and encourage Supinya.

"We are very pleased that this case, that had the potential to do so much damage to free speech in Thailand, has been dismissed.

"We are equally pleased that Supinya has not only won the case by standing by her convictions but has done so in an exemplary way that has established a standard of moral high-ground for other media campaigners."

Supinya greets supporters after the court decision