British activist Andy Hall went on trial Tuesday for defamation, the first of a series of lawsuits filed against him by a fruit processing factory in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
Mr Hall, 34, appeared before the court with his defence team led by veteran human rights lawyer Nakorn Chompuchart.
Andy Hall was the centre of attention as the first of his defamation cases got under way. If he loses, he faces up to eight years in prison and damages of 300 million baht because of the lawsuits by Natural Fruit Co Ltd. (AP photo)
Officials from the British, Australian and Finnish embassies, International Labour Organisation representatives, and workers and labour unionists came to witness the proceedings at Phra Khanong Court.
Virat Piyapornpaiboon, 69, the owner of Natural Fruit Co Ltd, also appeared before the court backed by pineapple industry companies including My Endeavour 2005, Kuiburi Fruit Canning and Prachuap Khiri Khan Fruit Canning.
The Natural Fruit Company, which chairs the Prachuap Khiri Khan Industrial Chamber, is one of the world's top 10 global exporters of canned and concentrated pineapple. The company filed three criminal and one civil lawsuit against Mr Hall in 2013.
The firm has accused the migrant labour advocate of defamation during an interview with Al Jazeera TV. The interview discussed a report he helped write last year for the Finland-based watchdog group Finnwatch. The Jan 2013 report detailed poor labour conditions in the Thai seafood and pineapple industries.
Natural Fruit is seeking 300 million baht in damages from Mr Hall in the civil case. The three criminal charges carry a combined jail term of up to eight years.
In a statement sent to reporters before the trial, Mr Hall said that his work had previously brought him into conflict with employers and officials. But he said he had never encountered anything more than "discomfort" from those responsible for the issues he raised.
The situation changed after the launch of the Finnwatch report into working conditions in Thai tuna and pineapple processing factories that exported to Finland, he said.
"The increasingly high-profile nature of the judicial harassment against me has proven to be beneficial in contributing to achieving more effectively just those goals of increased rights and access to justice for migrants in Thailand that I have worked hard to achieve for so many years," he said.
Mr Virat told the Bangkok Post that the activist had portrayed his company as a "bad guy", leaving the firm with no choice but to pursue the matter in court.
Natural Fruit employs 800 workers, of which 60% are migrants from Myanmar. Mr Virat said he has never had legal problems concerning his workforce, adding that his company has received "Happy Workplace" awards for good labour practices.
"The report not only tarnishes the reputation of my company but the pineapple industry as a whole," he said.
Mr Virat said a global campaign against his company — including more than 40,000 critical Line messages — has been deeply upsetting, but the company might consider dropping the lawsuits if Mr Hall apologised.
"If he stops (criticising the company), I'll stop too," he said. "We don't have a media network like he does. So if he posts any defamatory remarks again, perhaps more lawsuits will be filed."