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Beach in Thailand: The hotel owner invokes anti-defamation laws
Photo: Mladen Antonov / AFP
Negative criticism for a vacationer's resort could jail a US citizen in Thailand.
As the police of the Thai island of Koh Chang announced, the owner of a hotel filed a criminal complaint against the guest for damage to his reputation.
The person concerned, who works in Thailand, was arrested by the immigration police.
He faces up to two years in prison.
Organizations criticize strict anti-defamation laws
In July, the US guest complained about the hotel's "unfriendly staff" in a comment on the travel platform Tripadvisor.
This behaves as if guests are undesirable.
According to a spokesman for the Thai police, the man had had an argument with the staff because he did not want to pay corkage for alcohol he had brought into the hotel.
Thailand's strict anti-defamation laws have been harshly criticized by human rights defenders and organizations defending freedom of the press.
The laws are used by influential actors to suppress freedom of expression.
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koe / AFP