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	Andy Hall faces several civil and criminal lawsuits submitted by Thai fruit processor Natural Fruit in response to accusations of forced and child labour, unlawfully low wages, and long hours.</div>
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	&ldquo;We are greatly worried and concerned about this negative development,&rdquo; United Nordic, an alliance of food companies from northern Europe, said wrote to the Thai Food Processors Association.</div>
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	&ldquo;We do believe that this development can further hurt the Thai food industry,&rdquo; it added, calling for &ldquo;the engagement of constructive dialogues with organisations and civil society&rdquo;.</div>
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	Hall, who made the allegations in a report last year for Finnish rights group Finnwatch, is due in court in Bangkok on September 2 on a defamation charge linked to an interview he gave to the AlJazeera television network about the case.</div>
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	The activist&rsquo;s passport has been confiscated by Thailand&rsquo;s military regime pending his trial.</div>
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	AFP</div>

European firms decry Thai trial of British activist

A group of major European companies has voiced alarm at the trial of a British activist who could be imprisoned in Thailand for his investigation into alleged labour abuses in the Kingdom's food industry.