An Australian journalist, who faced a possible lengthy jail term in Thailand in a case involving the Royal Thai Navy, has welcomed the passing of a final deadline for the prosecutor to appeal against the verdict.
Melbourne journalist Alan Morison, 68, and Thai reporter Chutima Sidasthian were cleared last September of criminal defamation charges brought by the Royal Thai Navy in a case over the reporting of allegations of Thai military involvement in human trafficking in southern Thailand.
Morison was editor of online website Phuketwan, which in July 2013 republished excerpts of a Reuters newsagency report on human trafficking in Thailand.
He and Chutima had faced an anxious period since the September 1 verdict, with the Thai prosecutor, acting on behalf of the Thai Navy, seeking extensions to allow for a possible appeal.
"We're not 110 per cent and we will believe it's over when the official letter comes from the court saying 'it's over'," Morison told AAP.
But Chutima is confident the final passing of the deadline is the end of the case.
"I feel immense relief after such a long and unnecessary struggle," she said.
The Thai prosecutor had been granted three extensions following the September verdict that found Morison and Chutima not guilty of the charges.
"We were delighted by the (original) verdict and the injustice of the initial case, and pleased with the sanity in the Thai justice system," Morison said.
Phuketwan reported a portion from an expose by Reuters newsagency reporters on human trafficking, largely of ethnic Rohingya from Myanmar seeking to access Malaysia and Indonesia.
The Thai Navy had charged Morison and Chutima under Thailand's tough Computer Crimes Act, and they faced up to seven years in jail if they had been found guilty.
Morison called for reform of the Act due to legal abuse.
He confirmed the Phuketwan website was shut down after December 31, more than seven years after its inception in 2008.
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