Drop charges against Hall, scrap defamation law, rights body says

Following a final preliminary hearing yesterday, a Bangkok criminal court will decide whether to indict Hall, an adviser to the Migrant Worker Rights Network, on charges of criminal defamation and violations of the Computer Crimes Act brought by the Natural Fruit Co and government prosecutors.
“This prosecution is all about gagging Andy Hall to deter serious reporting about alleged abuses against migrant workers, and about intimidating others who might look closely at Thailand’s corporate supply chains,” said Brad Adams, HRW Asia director. “The government should recognise that freedom to investigate corporate abuses is critical to ensuring compliance and accountability under Thai law and international human rights standards.”
Natural Fruit sued Hall in February 2013 in response to an investigative report by the organisation FinnWatch, which included information about alleged labour rights violations at the company’s factory in Prachuap Khiri Khan province.
If convicted, Hall faces up to seven years in prison. Natural Fruit has also filed two civil defamation lawsuits against Hall seeking damages of over Bt300 million. The company, whose workforce in the Prachuap Khiri Khan factory consists mostly of Myanmar migrants, claims Hall defamed and damaged the company by “broadcasting false statements to media”. State prosecutors joined the case, in which Hall was also charged under the Computer Crimes Act.
HRW believes that criminal defamation laws in Thailand should be abolished, as criminal penalties are always disproportionate punishment for reputational harm and infringe on free expression. Criminal defamation laws are open to easy abuse, resulting in very harsh consequences, including imprisonment. Such laws are not necessary to protect reputations, it says, as repeal of criminal defamation laws in a number of countries has shown.
HRW said the human and labour rights of migrant workers from Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos living and working in Thailand have been regularly violated with impunity over the years.
HRW’s research shows migrants often get little or no protection from Thai labour laws despite government assertions that all legally registered migrant workers are covered by those laws. The research also shows that migrant workers who raise complaints against Thai employers frequently face retaliation.
“Seeing Andy Hall hauled before the courts for investigating labour rights abuses should concern any international firm sourcing products from Thailand,” Adams said. “Companies buying Thai exports should call on Bangkok to act to ensure respect for workers’ rights and accountability from its export industries, including by ending criminal offences for activists researching supply chains.”