The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A Thai Appeals Court has ordered a Spalding migrant rights defender to pay 10m baht (£250,000) in damages to Thai pineapple company Natural Fruit.
The Prakanong Court in Bangkok last week read an Appeals Court’s verdict on Andy Hall’s appeal against a 2018 10m baht civil defamation conviction, maintaining the lower court’s ruling and conviction.
Mr Hall (pictured) said he will liaise with his legal defence team to appeal the ruling to Thailand’s Supreme Court, adding he “remains open to reconciliation to end a continuing cycle of irrational litigation against him”.
Sonja Vartiala, executive director of Finnwatch, said: “We are shocked by the verdict. An Appeals Court last year found that the findings in the Finnwatch report Cheap Has a High Price were well-founded. Now another Appeals Court has found Andy Hall guilty of civil defamation because he spoke about those findings to Al Jazeera. This makes no sense.”
Mr Hall, who currently lives in Nepal where he continues to work on migrant worker rights, was not present at the hearing. He has not been a resident in Thailand since he left the country in 2016 after 11 years of activism there, citing intolerable judicial harassment.
He said: “Whilst I respect the ruling, I am disappointed by the verdict. My activism for over a decade in Thailand intended only to promote and uphold the fundamental rights of millions of migrant workers in the country.
“These workers continue to find themselves without a voice in high risk situations of forced labour and subject to systemic human and labour rights violations in global supply chains.
“My work has never intended to damage the reputation or legitimate business interests of Thai companies, nor has it been malicious. I remain open to reconciliation to put an end once and for all to this continued and irrational cycle of litigation.”
In order to appeal, Mr Hall had to place a deposit of 422 350 baht (11 880 euros) at the court in advance of the appeal’s submission.
UK-based organisation Freedom Fund alongside the Finnish grocery retailer S Group donated the required funds, with Freedom United and Solidarity Center supporting ongoing legal fees.
