Malaysia drops defamation case against Australian in Thailand

BANGKOK: Malaysia has withdrawn a criminal defamation complaint lodged in Thailand against an Australian writer, his lawyer said on Tuesday, after he agreed to apologize and take down articles deemed defamatory.
Human rights and press freedom groups condemned the charges brought last year against Murray Hunter following a complaint from Malaysia’s communications regulator, calling its lawsuit a cross-border threat to freedom of expression.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) filed the suit against Hunter, who lives in Thailand, over four articles published on his Substack blog in April 2024.
The commission alleged Hunter’s writing, which accused it of abuse of power, illegally blocking critical websites and “subverting democracy,” were defamatory.
Hunter was arrested in September 2025 at a Bangkok airport while attempting to board a flight, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, which represented his legal defense.
He was detained overnight and then released on bail with his passport seized.
His charge of criminal defamation carried a maximum prison sentence of two years and a fine of up to 200,000 baht ($6,400).
But Hunter and the MCMC agreed to a settlement last month, with Hunter issuing a public apology and removing the allegedly defamatory articles from his blog.
His lawyer in Thailand, Akarachai Chaimaneekarakate, told AFP on Tuesday that the case was dropped as a result of the mediation.
“The MCMC has withdrawn both cases, in Malaysia, a civil defamation case, and a criminal defamation case in Thailand,” the latter of which was withdrawn on Monday, Akarachai said.
Freedom of expression group PEN International welcomed the case’s conclusion, but reiterated concern that it “constituted a transnational SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation), involving coordinated civil and criminal actions across jurisdictions.”
The group said it opposed the “use of criminal defamation and strategic lawsuits to silence writers and journalists,” urging governments not to use defamation laws to “suppress public interest expression or enable cross-border repression.”