AUSTRALIAN socio-political commentator Murray Hunter has resolved his criminal defamation case with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) after a settlement was reached in the Thai Courts.
The case was settled today at the Criminal Victims Advisory and Protection Centre in the South Bangkok Court complex.
It was an early Lunar New Year cheer for Hunter, a former academic, aged 66, who had previously taught at Universiti Perlis Malaysia, where he had blogged about current issues in the country.
The charges were withdrawn without penalty or costs for the accused by the Thai prosecutor.
The Australian regained access to his passport, and he can now travel.
He was represented pro Bono by Akarachai Chaimaneekarakate and Khun Aeh from the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights group.
This was the first time that someone was charged for a multimedia offence/content allegedly committed in another country.
"It is a transboundary situation which troubles me," said Hunter.
But he is glad that the ordeal is over, as he was facing up to a seven-year imprisonment according to the seditious enactment under the Thai legislation.
He now plans to carry on with his life and to write on socio-economic issues, although he is mentally scarred from the charges levelled against him.
Hunter maintained his right to the freedom of the press on this matter.
Human rights groups, lawyers and journalists had earlier called for the defamation charges to be dropped.
“The arrest and criminal defamation charges against Murray Hunter are an alarming example of cross-border efforts to suppress critical voices and media freedoms,” Daniela Gavshon, Australia director at Human Rights Watch, said.
Zaid Malek, who is the Director for Lawyers for Liberty, also said it was unnecessary and high-handed for a public body to resort to lodging police reports for ‘defamation’ as if they were a private person.
Earlier, Hunter issued a public apology and fully retracted a series of articles about the MCMC as part of a settlement agreement with the regulator.
The apology follows a period of legal action against Hunter after he decided to relocate to neighbouring Thailand after his contract ended at UMP.
In October 2025, the High Court in Shah Alam found him liable for defamation in a civil suit brought by the MCMC.
Last year, he had been arrested by Thai authorities acting on the MCMC’s complaint, and was later charged there with criminal defamation over the same matter.
In a public apology published on his Substack page, Hunter acknowledged the impact of his writings.
“I acknowledge that my comments and articles about the MCMC and its related persons can be read to be inaccurate, misleading and have led to misunderstandings.
“I therefore apologise and regret if such actions caused any damage to the MCMC and/or related persons, and I hereby fully retract all such comments and articles in their entirety,” he undersigned.
The commission had lodged police reports in both Malaysia and Thailand, claiming the publications contained serious and unfounded allegations that damaged its reputation. - February 16, 2026.
