The Thai judge in the defamation case against an Australian journalist has had to take on the job of cross-examining the defendants and witnesses after the prosecutors failed to appear at the court in Phuket.
The prosecutors acting on behalf of the Royal Thai Navy were present on Tuesday, the first day of the three days of hearings, but failed to attend on Wednesday, bringing fresh uncertainty to the case.
Alan Morison, 67, the Australian publisher of online news site Phuketwan and reporter Chutima Sidasathian are appearing before the Phuket provincial court on charges of criminal defamation and breaching Thailand's Computer Crimes Act.
Prosecutors had overseen the giving of evidence on Tuesday by a member of the Royal Thai Navy and police officers who investigated the case.
Morison said outside court the failure of prosecutors to cross-examine defendants on Wednesday was surprising.
"What that means we can't quite figure, whether the prosecution thinks the case has been won already or whether they think `well, it's been lost already'," he told AAP.
"It's very irregular to have the prosecution not turn up after the prosecution case when the defence still has two days of evidence to deliver.
"What it means we won't know until the verdict is delivered."
But the senior judge overseeing the case asked supplementary questions throughout the shortened hearing with questions led by the defence team.
"It was a relief to not have to undergo cross-examination, but at the same time, we can't say for certain whether this is a positive for our case or not," Morison said.
The case arises from Phuketwan's republishing excerpts of a Reuters report in June 2013 that alleged the Thai navy was involved in the smuggling of Muslim Rohingya refugees from Myanmar seeking to reach Malaysia or Indonesia.
But Morison said the reference wasn't directed at the whole Royal Thai Navy.
"As we have said all along, we think it was the misguided action of one or two officers and based on a mistranslation ... and our confidence in that view of what's happened has increased today," he said.
The case has drawn widespread international attention and calls for the charges to be dropped.
Representatives from the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, the Australian Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, and the International Commission of Jurists attended court on Wednesday.
Australian consular staff from Bangkok were also in court.
Defence witnesses will give evidence for a final day on Thursday, with a verdict expected in mid August.
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