Bangkok: The BBC says it will fight allegations against one of its most experienced foreign correspondents in a defamation case in a Thai court that carries a possible five-year prison sentence.

Rights groups say charges brought against Jonathan Head, the BBC's Bangkok-based South-east Asia correspondent, expose how Thailand's computer crime and defamation laws scupper investigative journalism and are a threat to freedom of speech.

Jonathan Head faces up to five years in jail if convicted. Credit:Screenshot/BBC

Head pleaded not guilty in a court on the resort island of Phuket on Thursday to charges brought against him by a Thai lawyer over two September 2015 reports into how foreign retirees were allegedly scammed​ out of their properties.

"The BBC stands by its journalism and we will fight the allegations made against our correspondent by these proceedings," a BBC spokesperson said.