The acquittal will also serve as a benchmark for media freedom in Thailand following five dark years. It should also stop the practice of self-censorship among the media, and make journalists a more vigor?ous watchdog in society.

Chief Judge Kailert Kasemsarn said the court found Supinya had done nothing wrong when she pre?sented her research in her capacity as secretary-general of the Campaign for Popular Media Reform. It also found her research findings did not defame Shin Corp, which was recently sold to Temasek Holdings, an investment arm of the Singapore government. Supinya said Shin Corp had benefited from its connections with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The decision followed hot on the heels of another high-profile Bt10-billion defamation lawsuit against business newspaper Prachachart Thurakij by Picnic Corporation Plc. The court in Minburi dropped the case on Monday on the grounds that the daily's report on alleged financial mal?practice was in line with the media's responsibility to inform the public of the activities of a publicly listed com?pany.

For the past five years, the prime minister has single-handedly muz?zled the Thai media using a combi?nation of intimidation and econom?ic incentives. In the process he destroyed Thailand's traditional respect for free expression.

Supinya's triumph will boost free?dom of expression in Thailand and give journalists the confidence that they can do their jobs without fear of intimidation. It will also pave the way for the decriminalisation of defama?tion.

In recent years, several countries have abolished criminal defamation. But Thailand, section 328 of the Penal Code still allows journalists to be imprisoned for up to two years as well as fined.

Since the defamation actions were launched against Supinya and Prachachart Thurakij, the local media community has been cowed by the prospect of being hit with huge lawsuits.

The Supinya case has attracted wide international interest including the attention of media-watch organ?isations and other advocates of press freedom. New York-based Human Right Watch, Article 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders have jointly campaigned for Supinya.

They feared that if Supinya had been found guilty, it would have set a bad precedent for the region, which has already been confronted with media restrictions. Thailand once had the region's freest press but its international ranking has dropped greatly since Thaksin came to power. According to Freedom House, Thailand ranked 29 in 2000 but it had fallen to 95 in 2005 when Thaksin won re-election.

The Thai Constitution has 67 arti?cles that guarantee the freedom of expression, individual and collective liberties as well as the protection and the promotion of human rights and dignity. Thaksin ignored those legal requirements.

But the Thai media must not rest on its laurels because there are at least 27 anti-press laws that need to be abolished. These archaic laws have been used from time to time to restrict freedom of expression.

Finally, the emergency powers act which gives the authorities the power to censor news and shut down papers must be revoked to ensure that Thailand is truly free in both the let?ter and spirit of the 1997 Constitution.

Kavi Chongkittavorn

The Nation