Bangkok: Controversial defamation and computer-crime lawsuit brought by the Royal Thai Navy against Australian journalist Alan Morison and his Thai colleague Chutima Sidasathian​ for their coverage of the trafficking of Rohingya Muslims appears to have ended.

But the 30-month legal battle has forced Morison, 68, to close his award-winning Phuketwan online news site on the Thai resort island of Phuket and cost him much of his life's savings.

Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian with Chutima's mother after their acquittal in Phuket in September. Credit:Dan Miles

"We stood our ground because we knew we had done nothing wrong," Morison, a former senior Age editor said, referring to advice to apologise to escape with a reduced sentence or to flee Thailand.

A deadline passed on Friday evening for prosecutors to appeal Morison and Chutima's acquittal on the charges in September, appearing to leave Thai authorities without any other legal avenue to pursue them.