Senator sues talk show hosts for 50 million baht in libel case

Description

On 20 February 2023, a Senator appointed by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha filed a defamation lawsuit against 2 hosts of daily news talk show "Inside Thailand," aired by MCOT channel, demanding 50 million baht in damages. The Senator claimed he was defamed by the 2 hosts when they discussed his alleged ties to criminal organizations and Myanmar tycoon Tun Min Latt, who was arrested in Thailand on drug trafficking charges. The case is seen by some as a possible SLAPP that discourages the media from reporting about the allegations.

Information
Is the case related to their journalistic work?
Yes
Number of attacked persons or entities related to media
2
Do they work as freelance or media?
Yes
Position in media
Other
Status of journalists
Unknown
Gender
Unknown
Age
Unknown
Country
Bangkok
Full name or name of group
Identified
The name of perpetrator (individual/group)
Upakit Pachariyangkun
Background (state actor or non state actor)
Non-state actors (Political party, intolerance group, religious group, individual, private organization, private company, etc)
Gender
Male
Is it related to gender and identity based violence?
No
Attack mention about gender background/sexual wording?
No
Date of incident
Year of incident
2023
Type of incident
Criminal lawsuit/charge: Defamation
Please type the data source here (Link)
https://archive.is/WAA15