Thai court acquits British migrant rights activist

Supreme Court throws out defamation case filed against Andy Hall by fruit conglomerate he accused of rights abuses

By Arun Saronchai

BANGKOK (AA) - Two months after losing a defamation case filed by Thailand's largest fruit canning conglomerate, a British migrant rights activist has won a similar case against the same company.

Early Thursday, Thailand's Supreme Court threw out a defamation case filed by the Natural Fruit Company, which Hall had accused of committing widespread labor abuses in a 2013 research report.

The ruling related to an interview Hall later gave to Al Jazeera in which he detailed the earlier defamation suit filed by the conglomerate.

"This [suit] was an injustice against me," Hall said after Thursday's ruling.

Hall is out on appeal after a lower court found him guilty in September of the earlier case and gave him a suspended jail sentence.

The 2013 report, commissioned by Finland-based watchdog Finnwatch, detailed alleged rights abuses of Myanmar nationals at the company, including unpaid overtime, unsafe conditions and the confiscation of passports.

Natural Fruit Company is a Thai privately owned fruit wholesaler, specializing in canned pineapple and pineapple juice concentrate.

Kaynak: