Thai court finds British labour activist defamed fruit firm

Thai court finds British labour activist defamed fruit firm

FILE PHOTO: Andy Hall (centre) arrives for a hearing in his trial at the Phra Khanong Provincial Court in Bangkok, Thailand, 18 Sept 2015 (Bangkok Post photo)
FILE PHOTO: Andy Hall (centre) arrives for a hearing in his trial at the Phra Khanong Provincial Court in Bangkok, Thailand, 18 Sept 2015 (Bangkok Post photo)

A court in Bangkok has ordered a British labour rights activist to pay 10 million baht in damages to a company that filed a civil defamation suit after he helped expose alleged human rights violations at its factory.

The Monday ruling against Andy Hall was just the latest development involving one of four defamation suits filed by pineapple canning company Natural Fruit, which employed migrant Myanmar workers who claimed the company had broken labour regulations in abusing them.

Hall has prevailed in one of the two criminal defamation suits against him, while the other is pending, as is another civil suit. He has also filed a countersuit against Natural Fruit.

Hall left Thailand in 2016, citing intolerable legal harassment after another company sued him.

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 (Video YouTube/Freedom United)

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