abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
Article

3 Nov 2020

Author:
AFP, Bangkok Post

Thailand: Natural Fruit drops $9.6 million civil defamation case against activist Andy Hall

"Natural Fruit drops case against activist Andy Hall", 28 October 2020.

The pineapple company Natural Fruit on Wednesday dropped a $9.6 million civil defamation case against a British human rights activist who had alleged abuse of migrant workers in the kingdom's fruit industry.

Andy Hall has been hit with a series of lawsuits over the past eight years after contributing to a 2012 report about alleged poor working conditions, low wages and child labour at the factory in Pranburi in the lower central province of Prachuap Khiri Khan.

In 2016 he was found guilty of criminal defamation and given a suspended three-year prison sentence before the conviction was overturned in June this year.

In response the company launched a 300-million-baht civil defamation case in July.

But with the trial due to start, lawyers for the firm told the Bangkok court Wednesday it would drop the charges.

"The plaintiff intends to withdraw the case and wants the court to dismiss this case from the court system," court documents said.

Mr Hall, who left Thailand in 2016 after living there for 12 years, welcomed Wednesday's decision in a statement but said it was "not a victory"...

The two parties will be back in court in December over separate civil defamation charges that relate to a 2013 interview Mr Hall gave to Al Jazeera.

A ruling is expected on whether Mr Hall will be liable to pay 10 million baht ($321,000) in damages to Natural Fruit...

Timeline

Privacy information

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies. You can set your privacy choices below. Changes will take effect immediately.

For more information on our use of web storage, please refer to our Data Usage and Cookies Policy

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

Analytics cookie

ON
OFF

When you access our website we use Google Analytics to collect information on your visit. Accepting this cookie will allow us to understand more details about your journey, and improve how we surface information. All analytics information is anonymous and we do not use it to identify you. Google provides a Google Analytics opt-out add on for all popular browsers.

Promotional cookies

ON
OFF

We share news and updates on business and human rights through third party platforms, including social media and search engines. These cookies help us to understand the performance of these promotions.

Your privacy choices for this site

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies to enhance your experience beyond necessary core functionality.