Surapan Rujichaiwat is a Wang Saphung community leader and human rights defender actively involved in opposing the opening of a gold mining project in Loei Province in north-eastern Thailand. On 20 August 2015, the Mae Sod Provincial Court held a preliminary hearing in the case against him, filed by Tung Kha Limited Company (TKLC), and issued a trial order against him. He was officially charged with defamation following a post on social media calling for an investigation into the activities of Tung Kha Limited Company (TKLC).