THA 003 / 0815 / OBS 067.5
Judicial
harassment
Thailand
May 23, 2019
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint
partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has
received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following
situation in Thailand.
New information:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the ongoing
judicial harassment of Mr. Andy Hall[1],
a migrant worker rights defender, following complaints brought by Thai
pineapple processing company Natural Fruit for an interview he gave to Al-Jazeera about labour rights abuses.
According to the information received, on May 22, 2019, the Phra Khanong
Court in Bangkok read a Court of Appeals’ verdict on Mr. Hall’s appeal against a
2018 10 million-Thai Baht (approximately 281,000 Euros) civil defamation fine.
The Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s ruling, which was issued on March 26, 2018. Mr. Hall said he
would appeal the decision to Thailand’s Supreme Court but added that he
remained open to conciliation with Natural Fruit to seek to end the company’s
litigation against him.
This case dates back to
February 2013, when Natural Fruit filed complaints against Mr. Hall for
his contribution to a report published by Finnish non-governmental organisation
Finnwatch which alleged serious labour rights abuses by Natural Fruit and for
an interview he gave to Al-Jazeera
regarding the same report (see background information). A total of four
criminal and civil lawsuits[2]
have been filed by Natural Fruit company against Mr. Hall (see background
information).
The Observatory
firmly condemns the ongoing judicial harassment against Mr. Hall, as it
clearly aims at sanctioning his legitimate human rights activities and calls
upon the Thai authorities to put an end to all forms of harassment, including
at the judicial level, against him.
Background information:
Since February 2013, the Thai pineapple processing company Natural Fruit
has filed four criminal and civil lawsuits against Mr. Andy Hall for
defamation and computer crimes in relation to Mr. Hall’s contribution to a
report by the Finnish NGO Finnwatch that alleged serious labour rights abuses
at the company’s factory in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province and in relation to an
interview he gave to Al-Jazeera
regarding the same report. Published in January 2013, the report, “Cheap has a
high price: Responsibility problems relating to international private label
products and food production in Thailand”[3], gathered worker
interviews in order to document labour rights violations at the factory,
including allegations of child labour, underpayment of wages, confiscation of
migrant workers’ travel and work documents, and failure to provide legally
mandated paid sick days, holidays, and leave.
On October 29, 2014,
the Phra Khanong Provincial Court dismissed the criminal defamation case (Case
3) related to the Al-Jazeera
interview[4],
due to Mr. Hall’s unlawful interrogation process under Article 120 of the
Criminal Procedure Code[5].
However, the Office of the Attorney General subsequently appealed the court’s
dismissal of the case. On September 18, 2015, the Court of Appeals upheld the
Phra Khanong Provincial Court’s dismissal of the case. In December 2015,
Natural Fruit and the Attorney General were given permission by the Attorney
General to appeal to the Supreme Court. In January 2016, the Attorney General
and Natural Fruit submitted their appeals on the case to the Supreme Court. Mr. Hall’s
legal team responded to the appeal, and on November 3, 2016, the Supreme Court
dismissed the criminal defamation charges.
In September 2014,
Natural Fruit also filed a 100 million-Thai baht (approximately 2.8 million
Euros) civil defamation lawsuit against Mr. Hall, related to the Al-Jazeera interview (Case 4). The
first hearing on this case took place on November 21, 2014, at the Phra Khanong
Provincial Court. Mr. Hall submitted his defence, and further hearings
followed in May/November 2015 and January/April 2016. This case was then also
postponed pending a final decision in the appeal to the Supreme Court in the
criminal defamation case related to the interview. In August 2017, following an
appeal filed by Natural Fruit, the Court of Appeals ordered the Phra Khanong
Court to accept jurisdiction and hear the case in full. The hearing of
witnesses for the reopened case concluded in February 2018.
On January 18, 2016,
the Bangkok South Criminal Court indicted Mr. Hall under Article 14(1) of
the Computer Crimes Act and Article 328 (libel) of the Criminal Code (Case 1).
Ahead of the indictment, on January 13, 2016, the Bangkok South Criminal Court
confiscated Mr. Hall’s passport and issued a travel ban against him. The
order was handed down following a temporary bail[6]
request submission. Mr. Hall was prohibited from leaving Thailand until
the court ruled on the case unless permission was granted (permission would
have been granted on a case-by-case basis). On September 20, 2016, the Bangkok
South Criminal Court revoked the order restricting Mr. Hall’s travel and
returned his passport.
On September 20, 2016,
the Bangkok South Criminal Court handed down a four-year sentence against
Mr. Hall and a fine of 200,000 Thai Baht (about 5,160 Euros), on “criminal
defamation” and “computer crimes” charges. The court reduced the sentence to
three years, with a two-year suspended term and a fine of about 150,000 Thai
Baht (3,870 Euros).
Natural Fruit filed a
300 million-Thai Baht (approximately 8.4 million Euros) civil defamation
lawsuit against Mr. Hall following the publication of the Finnwatch report
case (Case 2). Negotiations between the two parties failed on October 30, 2014,
following which the Nakhon Pathom Court postponed consideration of this case
until a verdict had been reached in the criminal defamation and computer crimes
case.
On November 7, 2016,
Mr. Hall left Thailand fearing for his safety amid legal threats and
harassment from Natural Fruit company and another criminal complaint filed
against him by the poultry company Thammakaset Co., Ltd. in connection with a
separate case[7].
On March 26, 2018, the Phra Khanong Provincial Court in Bangkok ordered
Mr. Hall to pay 10 million Thai Baht (approximately 281,000 Euros) in
damages to the Thai pineapple processing company Natural Fruit. The Court also
ordered Mr. Hall to pay 10,000 Thai Baht (approximately 281 Euros) for the
plaintiff’s lawyer and the court fees, in addition to 7.5% interest from the
date of filing this case. Mr. Hall appealed this decision on September 6, 2018.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities of Thailand asking them to:
i. Put an
end to all acts of harassment, including at the judicial level, against Mr.
Andy Hall, as well as all human rights defenders in Thailand;
ii. Ensure in all circumstances that human rights defenders in
Thailand are able to carry out their legitimate activities without any
hindrance or fear of reprisals;
iii. Guarantee in all circumstances the right to
freedom of opinion and expression of all human rights defenders in
Thailand;
iv.
Comply with all the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human
Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in
particular with its Articles 1, and 12;
v. Ensure
in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in
accordance with international human rights standards and international
instruments ratified by Thailand.
Addresses:
·
Gen.
Prayuth Chan-ocha, Prime Minister of Thailand, Fax: +66 (0) 2 282 5131
·
Mr.
Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Fax: +66 (0) 2 643
5320; Email: minister@mfa.go.th
·
Air
Chief Marshal Prajin Juntong, Minister of Justice of Thailand, Fax: +66 (0) 2
953 0503
·
Pol
Gen Chaktip Chaijinda, Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police, Fax: +66
(0) 2 251 5956 / +66 (0) 2 251 8702
·
Mr.
Wat Tingsamit, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand,
Email: help@nhrc.or.th
·
H.E.
Mr. Thani Thongphakdi, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Thailand to the United
Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 715 10 00 / 10 02; Email: mission.thailand@ties.itu.int
·
Embassy
of Thailand in Brussels, Belgium, Fax: +32 2 648 30 66; Email:
thaibxl@pophost.eunet.be
Please
also write to the diplomatic representations of Thailand in your respective
countries.
***
Paris-Geneva, May 23, 2019
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken
quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory for the
Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by
FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this
programme is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights
defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by
international civil society.
[1] Andy Hall is a British national who lived in
Thailand for 11 years before leaving the country in November 2016 because of
judicial harassment. He is a researcher on migration issues in Southeast Asia
and now lives in Nepal, where he continues his human rights work.
[2] The first case relates to criminal charges
for the publication of the report (Case 1), the second for civil defamation for
the publication of the report (Case 2), the third relates to criminal charges
for the interview (Case 3) and the fourth for civil defamation for the
interview (Case 4). See also Finnwatch “Q&A: Criminal and Civil
Prosecutions - Natural Fruit vs. Andy Hall”, updated on May 22, 2019: https://finnwatch.org/images/pdf/NaturalFruitvsAndyHallQA_May2019_FINAL.pdf
[3] http://www.finnwatch.org/en/news/180-serious-human-rights-violations-behind-european-food-brands
[4] The case concerned an interview Andy Hall
gave to Al-Jazeera in Myanmar.
[5] See the Observatory’s Joint Press Release,
published on July 20, 2015, and Joint Open Letter, published on August 8, 2014.
[6] The bail was equivalent to 300,000 Thai Baht
(approximately 7,740 Euros).
[7] See Observatory Urgent Appeal THA 005 / 1118
/ OBS 137, published on November 27, 2018.
Tweet |
English