1-12-2025 (BANGKOK) A Bangkok court indicted Australian journalist Murray Hunter on four counts of criminal defamation on November 17, targeting articles he published criticizing Malaysia’s media regulator. The 62-year-old, a long-time Thailand resident and former academic, faces up to eight years in prison and fines totaling 800,000 baht under Thailand’s Criminal Code Section 328.
The charges arise from four Substack posts in April 2024, where Hunter alleged the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission abused its authority by blocking critical websites, censoring social media, and engaging in conflicts of interest—labeling it an “instrument of tyranny.” Malaysian authorities, who secured a civil defamation win against him in October 2024 without his knowledge, prompted the Thai case after his arrest at Suvarnabhumi Airport on September 29 while boarding a flight to Hong Kong.
Released on bail, Hunter surrendered his passport and awaits trial starting December 22. This prosecution marks the first known instance of Thailand pursuing a journalist over foreign government critiques, amplifying concerns over transnational repression amid Malaysia’s tightened online controls via 2024 amendments to its Communications Act. Advocacy groups decry it as a SLAPP tactic to muzzle dissent on public interest matters like corruption and censorship.
