Angkhana Neelapaijit - former Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand
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On October 25, 2019, the Thai company Thammakaset Co. Ltd filed a criminal defamation complaint against Ms. Angkhana Neelapaijit with the Bangkok South Criminal Court. Thammakaset alleged that Ms. Angkhana Neelapaijit violated Articles 326 (‘defamation’) and 328 (‘libel’) of Thailand’s Criminal Code by posting two tweets on December 3, 2018 and June 28, 2019 demonstrating support for other human rights defenders facing lawsuits by the company. A preliminary hearing was held on 24 February 2020. The next preliminary hearing was postponed to 8 June 2020, due to the coronavirus outbreak. If found guilty, she could face up to four years in prison and a fine of up to 400,000 Thai Baht (12,000 Euros).
On 14 March 2023, the Bangkok South Criminal Court began the trial that involves 28 counts of alleged criminal defamation under Thailand’s Criminal Code sections 326 and 328. The charges stem from posts or re-posts on social media by Angkhana Neelapaijit, Puttanee Kangkun, and Thanaporn Saleephol expressing solidarity with other human rights defenders already facing lawsuits brought by Thammakaset for alleging labour rights abuses at the company’s chicken farm in Lopburi Province. The company has filed at least 37 civil and criminal cases against rights defenders, journalists, and workers since 2016. In August 2023, the Bangkok South Criminal Court found Angkhana Neelapaijit, Puttanee Kangkun and Thanaporn Saleephol not guilty of criminally defaming Thammakaset Company Ltd.