Australian journalist Alan Morison and Thai colleague Chutima Sidasathian answer questions from the media. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

They were set free by a court today on the Thai holiday island of Phuket where they run a news website Phuketwan.com that has been at the forefront of reporting stories about the human trafficking rings that resulted in the uncovering of deaths camps on the Thailand/Malaysia border where over 200 bodies have been found.

“Hooray! Both charges dismissed against #Phuketwan journalists Alan and Oi free to go. Big victory for media freedom in #Thailand Human Rights Watch director Phil Robertson tweeted from the court.

Charges were brought against the pair in December 2013 after the June 2013 publication of a reprinted Reuters paragraph.

Morison’s reprieve comes only days after Australian journalist Peter Greste, who worked for Doha based news organisation Al Jazeera was sentenced “in absentia” to three years in jail.

Speaking to News Corp on the evening before the sentencing, Morison was in good spirits.

“We don’t really have a plan B, hopefully we can have a good spirited conversation after the court hearing tomorrow,” he said.

“But anything less than a not-guilty verdict would be bad for freedom of the media both in Thailand and internationally,” he said.

Morison added that it would be particularly concerning from a military government which has taken moves to curb press freedoms and a Prime Minister who has joked that he would

“shoot” journalists.

The pair were charged for reprinting a seemingly innocuous paragraph from a Reuters story, one of a series of stories that won the organisation the prestigious Pulitzer Prize:

“The Thai naval forces usually earn about 2000 baht per Rohingya for spotting a boat or turning a blind eye, said the smuggler, who works in the southern Thai region of Phang Nga [north of Phuket] and deals directly with the navy and police.” the paragraph said.

Alan Morison, editor of The English-language news website Phuketwan, left, and his Thai colleague, Chutima Sidasathien, right. Picture: AP Source: AAP

Reuters down played Chutima’s role in their investigations saying that her role was simply to make “male appointments”.

But Morison said that Reuters got the benefit of “three years of hard work and trusted contacts in a matter of days, it would have taken them years to do it themselves”.

“We have been extremely generous with our time providing background briefings and contacts to all sorts of journalists because we believe this is an issue that deserved as much coverage as possible,” he said.

Chutima and Morison were alerted to the fact that Burmese people were being moved across Thailand by nefarious means in late 2008 when 54 Burmese were found dead in a refrigerated truck.

“Our lives changed forever by those trips that turned us from copyeditors behind desks on Phuket into investigative reporters,” the pair wrote at the time.

Despite six month of attempts by Australian ambassador Paul Robilliard and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, the trial proceeded from July 14-16.

Morison said he had been extremely disappointed by Reuters’ attitudes throughout the ordeal.

“Any sense of support of collegiality with other journalists, especially those that have helped them doesn’t not seem to be part of Reuters corporate cultures,” he said.

News Corp understands that Reuters journalists were told by management not to discuss the case.