iLaw Chief Urges PM Anutin to Testify in Defamation Suit
iLaw director Yingcheep Atchanon says he has evidence backing his accusations of Senate election corruption involving Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and has demanded the premier appear in person at a defamation hearing on December 14, 2026. The lawsuit, filed by Anutin through a delegate, alleges defamation over Yingcheep’s public statements made in July 2026. Yingcheep’s legal team argues the claims are factual and aims to have the court summon documents and witnesses to examine the alleged wrongdoing.
At the iLaw press conference, Yingcheep said he had held a news conference on July 21, 2026, at parliament, calling on the opposition to investigate government figures possibly linked to vote‑buying in the 2024 Senate election and naming Anutin. He cited two main points: a senator‑candidate witness claimed they had asked Anutin for help and received a phone number of a related person, and another witness said they saw Anutin meeting selected senators at the Pullman Hotel on Rangnam Road discussing who would become Senate president. The first witness, Gusumawadee Sirikomut, has spoken publicly; the second, identified only as witness 25/26, testified to the Department of Special Investigation and the Election Commission while keeping their identity confidential. Yingcheep insisted his statements are based on evidence, not mere allegations, and are meant to prompt authorities to examine any wrongdoing in the Senate election process, which he views as a legitimate exercise of citizens’ right to scrutinize state power. He thanked Anutin for personally appointing a lawyer and filing the suit himself rather than using state agencies, saying this reduces perceptions of state‑powered harassment. Yingcheep argued that the plaintiff, Anutin, should testify in person, not through a representative, because he is directly involved in the facts. iLaw’s defence strategy maintains that the statements made are facts already in the public domain and therefore do not constitute defamation.
