Thai court orders English-language newspaper to reinstate sacked editor

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - The English-language Bangkok Post newspaper must reinstate an editor who was fired for a controversial report two years ago on the construction of Bangkok's new international airport, Thailand's Labor Court ruled Tuesday.

Sermsuk Kasitipradit reported in a front-page story _ citing an unidentified source _ that U.S. aviation experts told the Thai government the new airport's runways had cracks "large enough to sink the nose wheel of an aircraft."

The Post retracted its report and printed a front-page apology the next day, and also dismissed Sermsuk and another editor. Sermsuk filed a lawsuit against his dismissal, which led to the Labor Court ruling Tuesday that he had been illegally fired.

The court said the decision to publish the story was made by senior editors, and the substance of the report has not yet proven false.

Beside giving Sermsuk the right to resume working at the newspaper, the court ordered the Post to pay him 623,700 baht (US$21,000, ?15,100) in accrued benefits since the time of his dismissal.

"I believe that this ruling will set a precedent for the people's right to know and the protection of journalists who carry out their duty without fear and favor," Sermsuk said in a statement.

The Post's editor, Pattnapong Chantranontwong, said the newspaper had no immediate comment on the court's ruling.

The Suvarnabhumi Airport was opened in September last year, and some of its taxiways have cracks in need of repair.

After the Post's August 2005 report, the state airport authority sued the newspaper for criminal libel, a case that has not been resolved.

The firing caused a furor in the paper's newsroom, where nearly 100 journalists wore black in protest, claiming the newspaper acted under pressure from the government.

The newspaper's then-editor, David Armstrong, said at the time "the number of errors and misjudgments in the lead-up to the publication of the story was so great that firm action was both justified and necessary."