Alan Morison the Australian journalist who has been hounded by the Royal Thai Navy has returned defiantly to Thailand for fight libel cases brought against him and colleague Chutima Sidasathian, the Guardian is reporting today.
Morison and Chutima face trial over one sentence in a Reuters report which they published on the plight of the Rohynga refugees from Burma.
They have covered the issue and the treatment of the Rohingya for over seven years.
For the full story go here.
I wish them the very best of luck in their venture and hope the case is pulled from the court. Alan is unapologetic.
He said: “I don’t see how we can apologise for something we haven’t done. This is just a very unfortunate, misguided attempt by someone with a vendetta against Phuketwan to silence us.”
“We have to run our defence as assiduously as possible, not only for ourselves, but for the freedom of the media in Thailand. This is for all the other journalists in Thailand, and it is for the people on those boats that we have reported about, their stories need to be told, not covered up.”
While I 100 % support Alan Chutima in their fight; subject to a court submission I will personally not be returning to Thailand in the near future to defend myself from actions brought by a convicted thief with a six year prison sentence behind him, a convicted extortionist who is appealing a two year prison sentence, and a former Pattaya bar girl associated with them.
Cases against Brian Goudie, 47, from Falkirk, former prisoner E000274 in Hakea Prison, WA, who has been posing in Thailand as a barrister and a former Captain in the Royal Marines, and Drew Noyes, 60, of New Hampshire, who has been posing in Thailand as a lawyer, can however proceed as my evidence has been concluded.
While the issues of press freedom and the abuse of Thailand’s Computer Crime Act are the same – the cases are radically different.
I am accused of lampooning Goudie by publishing photo-shopped photographs of him in the garb of a barrister, judge, and Royal Marine officer, and also of ridiculing him and Drew Noyes in a gay parade. (No suggestion was made in the article in question that they were actually gay).
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| The offensive gay parade photo |
Under Thai law the plaintiffs are claiming their reputations were damaged by the illegal photo-shopping of their images to ridicule them.
I admit the purpose was to ridicule them and that this was a legitimate journalistic exercise. Both Goudie and Noyes had arrived in Thailand making ridiculous claims so set up law offices. Goudie claimed, as stated, that he was a barrister and former Royal Marine officer, and Noyes claimed he had come to Thailand by Royal Proclamation to save Thailand from the Asian Economic Crisis in the late 90s – and that he was a lawyer. But you have to wonder why a court would accept them in Thailand.
My acts are not illegal under British or US law. This site is registered in the UK and hosted in the US by Google.
The plaintiffs are welcome to sue in either of these two countries. A number of cases brought by them have already been defeated.
assiduous must mean a fight against a bunch of assholes. Keep up your assiduous fight.
Didn't Noyes publish Spike magazine, the number 1 selling magazine for Pattaya's gay community?
Now that you're out of country, AD, can you put up some excerpts from Drew's extortion trial or any other of the trials? You could make a series out of it.
We've not heard lately how the President and Secretary of the Lions Club are doing. I'm wondering if they're still showing up to meetings together, since taking Kung in the States.
Well, Drew's last appearance on the Lions Facebook page seems to be a photo from November… Maybe they're quietly trying to drop him…
I love the photos!!! 🙂
He's an interesting point. They are currently trying to sue me for re posting your articles on G+ and Facebook, even though as you state your server is out of Thailand. I was also in another country. Of course they have repeatedly committed purjery to the court with false addresses for me and of course the courts have taken no action against them. I'm also quite surprised the Thai courts now think of them selves as the worlds Internet policeman, judge and jury……sorry….no jury in Thailand.
Where the server or poster is is irrelevant. Thailand is its own sovereign state with its own laws. I don't necessarily agree with them but suggesting all laws must comply with a western model does get Thais backs up. They don't criticise our legal system. Not all countries have jury systems and sometimes they don't work in western countries particularly on technically difficult cases, The UK and the States censor. The Daily Mail is banned in Thailand because it broke Thai laws. New Mandala, Dan Rivers and macgergr Marshall are still free to report despite recycling factually incorrect statements and rumour. But I note there's less support for them now on NM. Either people are beginning to see through their propaganda or they are doing their own research and due diligence. .
If someone criticizes Thailand in the media or on the internet, even if they reside outside the country, does that make them liable to prosecution within Thailand or does it simply make the medium liable for prosecution? The whole system seems to be unworkable. Furthermore, why on earth are the protagonists in the AD cases protected? For financial reasons?
May be you're right…….
And Mr. Rees gets in his completely irrelevant dig in for New Mandala. From I've read, the only one who has lost credibility on that site is yourself, and it is diminishing here with your obvious personal vendetta against the administrators of NM who tower above you in intellect and reasoning.
I think the idea is to chase away all the horrible Thaivisa types. Which may not leave many readers.
I thought it was "Spice"…..which again is a contradiction as he's the most boring, bland un interesting creature to make Thailand it's home……
The art of a great fraudster is memory……this is why Noyse is caught out at every little step with his failed career as a criminal. He's suing Andrew, Topper and recently my self over gay parade photos…..yet he promoted himself as the owner of Thailands biggest circulating gay magazine…..lier, fraud, devient, pervert and extortionist……….sue me Noise……
Alan Morison is a no-nonsense type, a decent person who will fight to the end, like his Dad did in WW II..who just had his 90'th birthday.
When Alan has a just cause to pursue, he is as determined as AD
Same same tune , they just fight in different arenas..
I'm looking forward to hearing just how these pictures damaged Drew Noyes and Brian Goudie's reputations when being called con men, liars, thieves, swindlers, fraudsters, extortionists, fake lawyers, convicted criminals and more hasn't hurt their reputation.