Spalding-born campaigner wins victory in Thai courts
A campaigner from Spalding who fights for justice for workers around the world has finally won a long legal battle in the Thai courts.
Human rights defender Andy Hall (41) has had all charges that were brought against him by pineapple firm Natural Fruit dropped.
The company wanted to sue Mr Hall for 10 million Thai baht (more than £220,000) for defamation after a report that exposed working conditions for staff.
He had previously been sentenced to prison for this matter, before seeing the Supreme Court quash the threat of jail in 2016.
The Thailand Supreme Court this week finally revealed that the financial threat was dismissed too, bringing an end to a saga that has dragged on for almost nine years.
Speaking to the Spalding Guardian from Lebanon this week, Mr Hall said: “It’s good that I can move on. I have been vindicated but it’s a shame that it took so long.”
The appeal process is thought to have cost him $20,000 - while the campaign as a whole has amounted to estimated legal costs of about £250,000.
Mr Hall’s proud parents Desmond and Patricia still live in Spalding. He revealed that, upon hearing the news, his mum messaged him to say: “It brought tears to my eyes. I am so proud of you and always will be.”
The court’s verdict on Mr Hall, who is now based in Nepal, was dated June 25 last year. It was officially delivered at Prakanong Court on March 2 this year - but the transcript was only passed on to lawyers, and Mr Hall, on Tuesday.
Mr Hall conducted fieldwork and interviews for campaign group Finnwatch’s ‘Cheap has a high price’ report, which alleged serious labour rights violations at a fruit plant in southern Thailand.
He had been interviewed about the report on Al Jazeera English in Myanmar in 2013.
The charges against him were widely criticised - including by the UN and European Parliament.
This week’s news of the court ruling was also welcomed by the UK’s Thailand embassy. On Twitter, it said: “Welcome the Supreme Court’s ruling in favour of Mr Andy Hall, and that the Court found that his work was done in good faith and was accurate. The ruling is encouraging for human rights defenders that have faced unprecedented levels of pressure in recent years from SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) cases.
“We look forward to continuing our work with the Thai government, businesses and local organisations in the pursuit of strengthened protections for workers and HRDs (human rights defenders) alike in line with Thailand’s commitment in the NAP (national action plan) on BHR (business and human rights).”
In a Finnwatch statement on Tuesday, Mr Hall added: “I welcome today’s ruling. But after years of ongoing judicial harassment that has taken a heavy toll on me, my family and my colleagues, this is not a victory.
“My activism for over a decade in Thailand was intended only to promote and uphold the fundamental rights of millions of migrant workers in the country. These workers continue to find themselves without a voice in high-risk situations of forced labour and subject to systemic human and labour rights violations in global supply chains.
He added: “I have never intended to harm any legitimate business interests through my work and have always remained genuinely open to reconciliation with all those who may feel aggrieved by my campaigning style, to put an end once and for all to this continuing irrational cycle of litigation against me and my colleagues.”
He is now campaigning about labour rights violations in Malaysia’s rubber glove industry.
