"Thailand Court Clears U.K. Labor Activist of Defaming Fruit Company", 3 Nov 2016

Thai Supreme Court clears labour rights researcher Andy Hall in one criminal defamation case; separate conviction in another related case stands

A British labor activist who accused a Thai fruit company of abusing migrant workers was cleared of a criminal defamation charge by Thailand’s highest court on Thursday.

But a separate conviction against the activist, Andy Hall, stands, and Mr. Hall said…that he would appeal it and sue the company, Natural Fruit, as well as Thailand’s attorney general and others.

“I feel very uncomfortable because as human rights activists, we want to spend our time doing productive, forward-moving work, and not sitting in court,” Mr. Hall said by telephone. “But this company will not stop its harassment, and the government is not doing anything to stem the harassment.”

Rights groups and the United Nations have objected to the prosecution of Mr. Hall, who lives in Thailand. He has been caught up in the country’s legal system since 2013, when he contributed to a report by a Finnish advocacy group that accused Natural Fruit of violating the rights of migrant workers from Myanmar…