An Australian journalist, cleared this month by a Thai court of criminal defamation charges brought by the Royal Thai Navy, says he feels "vindicated" after the navy said it would not appeal the verdict.
Alan Morison, 67, originally from Melbourne and editor of online news service Phuketwan, was told on Tuesday the Thai navy would no longer pursue the case.
He and Thai reporter Chutima Sidasathian were found not guilty by Phuket Criminal Court on September 1.
The charges related to Phuketwan's 2013 republishing of excerpts from a Reuters' newsagency story alleging Thai security forces were involved in the trafficking of persecuted Muslim Rohingya from Myanmar.
Morison said the navy's decision not to appeal made sense following news of a further 32 police and immigration officers being transferred for their involvement in the trafficking.
Earlier, more than 50 people, including several local politicians and officials, were arrested on charges of human trafficking, detention and ransom.
A provincial court had also recently issued arrest warrants for four senior military officers, including a naval commander.
"[The navy] is not going to appeal, which would make sense in view of what's happened to the commander and the colonels in the army, but we expect to see further action on the human trafficking front as well," Morison told AAP.
But Morison says he will walk away from the online news service he set up in 2008.
"We hope Phuketwan will continue, but we're not likely to be involved," he said.
The news service was "for sale", but he doubted there were many people "brave enough" to enter the media these days.
He said he felt vindicated given subsequent reporting on the Rohingya boat people and official collusion on trafficking.
"I guess we derive a great deal of self satisfaction from being proved right, even if it has cost us quite a bit to be true to that," he said.
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