101 East investigates if defamation laws are being used to strangle scrutiny in Thailand amid growing calls for reform.
When tens of millions of baht disappeared from funds supposed to help lift Thai farmers out of poverty, Chutima Sidasathian began investigating.
The acclaimed journalist and human rights defender soon uncovered a banking scandal that has devastated her local community.
But a public figure implicated in the alleged fraud has filed criminal defamation complaints against her and now she’s facing up to 18 years in prison.
She’s just one of tens of thousands who have been slapped with these charges in the past decade.
101 East investigates how lawsuits are allegedly being used to intimidate whistleblowers and conceal corruption in Thailand.