BANGKOK — 8 October 2026, iLaw director Yingcheep Atchanont has vowed to fight a defamation lawsuit filed by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, saying information he presented concerning alleged irregularities in the 2024 Senate election was based on evidence and witness accounts.
Yingcheep said he plans to ask the court to summon documents, CCTV footage, telephone records and witnesses related to the alleged Senate election fraud case. He also said he would appear in court himself on 14 December 2026 and called on Anutin, as the plaintiff, to personally testify.
At 14:00 on 8 October 2026, Yingcheep, together with lawyer Anusorawadee Mruaksirimas and iLaw creative and data analyst Kanyalak Sunthornpruek, held a press conference at the iLaw office to outline their legal strategy in the case filed by Anutin against Yingcheep for defamation by publication.
The Criminal Court has scheduled a preliminary hearing for 09:00 on 14 December 2026.
Yingcheep addressed a complaint filed by some senators with the Central Investigation Bureau seeking legal action against him, saying he found the document “amusing” after reviewing it. He said the complaint did not clearly identify the complainants or explain how the alleged victims had been harmed. The section concerning him consisted of only about three lines and did not clearly specify which offence he was alleged to have committed.
He said the document only cited Section 86 of the Criminal Code, concerning an aider or abettor, without identifying the underlying offence.
After reviewing the details, Yingcheep said he found no indication that he had committed the alleged offence. He also questioned why the authors of the complaint had not clearly identified themselves.
He said the document also referred to an incident at the Miracle Grand Hotel, where he had rented a venue to hold a public event. Yingcheep insisted that no offence had been committed at the venue and said that if individuals had engaged in discussions concerning alleged Senate election irregularities there, those actions were unrelated to him.
Anusorawadee outlined the defence strategy, saying that on 15 September 2026, Anutin authorised Supachai Jaisamut to file the defamation lawsuit against Yingcheep at the Criminal Court. The case was registered as Black Case No. A.2672/2569, with the preliminary hearing scheduled for 09:00 on 14 December 2026.
The lawsuit concerns a press conference held by Yingcheep on 21 July 2026 at Parliament, when he submitted a letter to the chairman of the opposition coalition coordination committee calling for an investigation into government figures who might have been connected to alleged irregularities in the 2024 Senate election. Anutin, who was prime minister at the time, was among the names mentioned.
Anusorawadee said two key issues concerning Anutin were raised at the press conference.
The first involved a Senate candidate who allegedly said she had approached Anutin for assistance and received a telephone number of a person with whom she was told to speak directly.
The second involved a witness who allegedly saw Anutin speaking with elected senators at the Pullman Bangkok King Power Hotel on Rang Nam Road. The witness allegedly said the discussion concerned who would be chosen as Senate president.
The first witness is Kusumawadee Sirikomut, who has publicly disclosed information and spoken to the media on several occasions. The other is Witness No. 25/26, whose identity has been withheld for safety reasons. The witness has given evidence to investigators from the Department of Special Investigation and the Election Commission. Some of the testimony has subsequently been made public and was also referred to by Narong Klanwarin, chairman of the Election Commission.
Yingcheep said the information concerning Anutin was therefore based on alleged evidence and witness accounts, rather than unsupported accusations. He said the purpose was to provide information to relevant authorities so they could investigate whether any laws had been violated or corruption had occurred during the Senate election process.
He argued that doing so constituted a citizen’s right and duty to scrutinise the exercise of state power and should not be considered defamation.
Yingcheep also thanked Anutin for responding to at least two demands he had previously made: appointing his own lawyer and filing the lawsuit personally rather than using state mechanisms such as police or prosecutors, as well as filing the case at the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road, which is within the jurisdiction where the alleged incident occurred.
Yingcheep said these steps helped reduce concerns that the defamation case was an attempt to use state mechanisms to harass the defendant, while also increasing the costs of travelling to and defending the case.
However, Yingcheep said the person best able to answer questions about the facts at the centre of the case was the plaintiff himself, rather than an authorised representative. He therefore called on Anutin to appear personally in court and face cross-examination by the defence.
He said Anutin was directly connected to the facts in question and that a representative who had not witnessed the events should not testify based on information passed on to them.
Yingcheep said iLaw’s legal strategy consisted of several parts.
First, the statements he made at the press conference concerned facts that already existed in the public domain, rather than fabricated accusations, and therefore should not constitute defamation. He also argued that the statements concerned allegations of corruption and misconduct and that the lawsuit could therefore be considered an abuse of the legal process under the 2026 guidance of the President of the Supreme Court and Section 161/1 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The defence will ask the court to dismiss the case and prevent the plaintiff from bringing the same matter before the court again.
Second, if the court proceeds with the preliminary hearing, the defence will ask Anutin to appear personally on 14 December 2026 to testify about whether the statements cited in the lawsuit were true or false, as well as the facts that the defence maintains are true.
Yingcheep said Anutin was the person with the greatest knowledge of the facts in the case. He also said that giving false testimony could carry criminal liability. If Anutin was unable to testify or explain the facts, iLaw believed he should consider withdrawing the lawsuit himself.
Third, if the court accepts the case and it proceeds to a full trial, the defence will ask the court to summon documents from the Election Commission’s investigation into alleged Senate election irregularities.
At least six categories of documents will be sought, including the investigation and inquiry committee No. 26’s summary opinion, which iLaw said recommended that Anutin be prosecuted before the Supreme Court in connection with alleged Senate election fraud; opinions from two Election Commission members who dissented and, according to iLaw, also recommended prosecution of Anutin; CCTV footage from the Pullman Hotel on Rang Nam Road from 21 July 2024; CCTV footage from the Bhumjaithai Party headquarters, particularly the fourth floor and administrative and financial offices, during the 2024 Senate election; telephone location data showing the plaintiff’s whereabouts on 21 July 2024, together with contact records between the plaintiff, Senate candidates and people facing proceedings over alleged Senate election irregularities; and statements by Kusumawadee Sirikomut, Witness No. 25/26 and other witnesses who allegedly saw or had knowledge of the plaintiff’s role in the Senate election.
The defence also plans to ask the court to summon at least 11 witnesses, including Election Commissioners Sitthichot Intharawiset and Chai Nakhonchai, Pol Lt Col Chanin Noilek, former deputy secretary-general of the Election Commission and former chairman of inquiry committee No. 26, former Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong, former Department of Special Investigation director-general Pol Maj Gen Yutthana Phaetdam, DSI investigator Ekarin Don Dong, former Bhumjaithai MP for Khon Kaen Ekarat Changlao, Khon Kaen senator Atsadang Saengkan, former Senate candidate Kusumawadee Sirikomut, Witness No. 25/26, whom iLaw says saw the plaintiff at the Pullman Hotel on Rang Nam Road, and opposition coalition coordination committee chairman Phaetrit Watcharasinhu, who received Yingcheep’s letter at the press conference.
Yingcheep said the requests for documents and witnesses were intended to establish the facts behind allegations concerning the plaintiff’s involvement in the Senate election process and determine the extent to which those allegations were supported by evidence.
They would also seek to establish whether the information Yingcheep presented publicly was supported by facts and official evidence.
Yingcheep said that if the plaintiff believed the process would create a burden because he would have to participate in witness hearings and review a large volume of investigative documents, the plaintiff could choose to withdraw the lawsuit and avoid further burdens on all parties involved.
Kanyalak said iLaw had been working to publish evidence and information concerning alleged irregularities in the 2024 Senate election. She said several Bhumjaithai Party executives had been connected to the matter and that iLaw had obtained telephone records involving party executives and Senate candidates from after the provincial-level Senate election until before the national-level election.
She cited, for example, telephone calls between a Bhumjaithai executive and a Senate candidate from Ang Thong before the national-level Senate election.
Kanyalak also said Witness No. 25/26 had reported seeing Anutin at the Pullman Bangkok King Power Hotel on 21 July 2024. She said the date and location corresponded with testimony previously given by Ekarat Changlao, who reportedly said senators had been invited to the hotel to receive instructions from Newin Chidchob concerning the selection of the Senate president and vice presidents.
The witness also reportedly confirmed seeing Anutin and Newin together in a function room where senators were meeting.
Kanyalak said iLaw would publish relevant documents on its Facebook page at 18:00 on 8 October. On 9 October, iLaw will publish telephone records involving one Bhumjaithai executive and one minister after finding that they had communicated with Senate candidates before the national-level Senate election.