BANGKOK — A Thai court has dropped a criminal defamation case against a British human rights activist who reported on labour abuses committed by a Thai fruit processing company.

Natural Fruit Co. Ltd., one of Thailand’s biggest pineapple processors, filed several cases against Andy Hall, 34, for reporting on the company’s alleged abuse of its workers.

This morning, a court in Prakanong dismissed the defamation case concerning an interview Hall gave to Al-Jazeera about the company's alleged rights abuses.

The court dropped the case because the interview took place in Myanmar, not Thailand, and officials from Thailand's attorney-general's office were not involved in the investigation from the start as is required by law. According to the judges, this constituted a violation of section 120 of Thailand's criminal procedure code.

“I'm delighted at today's court ruling,” Hall wrote on twitter after the court hearing. “It's real victory for migrant workers, labour rights, rule of law, freedom of expression in Thailand.”

According to Reuters, a lawyer for Natural Fruit said the firm will appeal today's court decision. 

Hall still faces charges of defamation and violating the Computer Crime Act in other cases filed by Natural Fruit for his contribution to a report by the Finnish NGO Finnwatch last January. The report chronicles a series of labour abuses described by Natural Fruit workers – some of whome were undocumented migrants – including hazardous working conditions, unlawfully low wages, and instances of child labour.

The trial for Hall's second defamation case is scheduled to begin on Thursday. 

Defamation is a criminal offense in Thailand, defined under Thai law as any statement made by one party that is likely to impair the reputation of another party or expose the latter to hatred. The offense is punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of 200,000 baht.

The law has been frequently criticised by rights activists, who say it is abused by authorities and large corporations to silence critics and create a climate of fear.

Earlier this year, two Phuket-based journalists were charged with defamation by the Royal Thai navy for a publishing an excerpt from a Reuters report that alleged Navy officials’ involvement in the trafficking of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.

In both Mr. Hall’s case and the Phuketwan journalists’ cases, the law has been used to target individuals and not the larger organisations their work is affiliated with. Instead of pursuing charges against Finnwatch, Natural Fruit Co. has targeted Mr. Hall alone. Similarly, the Thai navy has focused their efforts on prosecuting the journalists from Phuketwan, even though the report in question was authored by Reuters.

"Finnwatch demands Natural Fruit now drop all the charges against Andy Hall," Finnwatch's executive director Sonja Vartiala said after today's court hearing. "Instead of allowing companies to bring human rights activists to court, Thailand needs to prosecute companies like Natural Fruit, who are violating labour rights." 

BANGKOK — Two activists were denied bail for the fourth time after being indicted for offending Thailand’s royal family in a theater performance last October.

Pornthip Mankong, 25, and Khon Kaen University student Patiwat Saraiyam, 23, have been held in  prison for more than 70 days since their arrest in August.

The pair was formally charged with lese majeste on Friday for their involvement in “The Wolf Bride,” a play about a fictional monarch performed at Thamamsat University on October 2013 to commemorate the anniversary of the 14 October popular uprising.

Under Thailand’s draconian lese majeste law, insulting the monarchy is a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The activists' lawyer and three academics requested the pair's release on bail but were denied by the court for the fourth time today. It is rare for lese majeste suspects to be released from custody while awaiting trial.  

Their next court date is scheduled for 29 December.

Patiwat was actor in the play, while Pornthip coordinated the production and played a small role. The play was organized by the now-defunct Prakai Fai Karn Lakorn activist group.

Since seizing power in a coup on 22 May, junta chairman and Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha has made persecuting critics of the monarchy a top priority of his administration. 

Several rights organisations, including Amnesty International and the UN, have expressed concern in the spike of lese majeste charges since the coup.

Khaosod Exclusive

Thienchay Kiranandana, the former rector of Chulalongkorn University, was chosen to lead the junta-appointed National Reform Council (NRC) last week. The NRC has been tasked with reforming the country across a wide range of sectors, including politics, economics, the judiciary, and mass media. Thailand’s military junta, known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), says elections will be held once the reform process is completed, which is expected to take at least one year. The NRC will also work with the Constitutional Drafting Committee to pen a new charter for the country.

Khaosod: Are you worried about your new role of as president of the NRC?

Thienchay Kiranandana:  I am worried – I have never done anything like this before, but it has to be done. I don't think it's necessary to prove anything. It's a waste of time. I will carry on doing my job, and people will eventually see what I’ve done, though it’s fine if they don’t too. Explaining everything will tighten up the knot of conflict, so it's better to just do my job.  I'm going to prove that I'm here for the Thai people and for the country. If I can prove it, I'll be happy, and if I can’t, then I'll happily apologize.      

Khaosod: Have you begun setting up committees to draft a new constitution?

Thienchay: You should understand that the National Reform Council hasn't started working yet because its president and vice president have yet to be officially endorsed by the King. However, because there's a short period of time to draft a new constitution, we'll present a plan of setting up temporary committees to the NRC. 

Khaosod: Will the NRC work with all political parties?

Thienchay: I don't want to call [the NRC] representative of a political party or political group. If anyone wants to cooperate with the NRC, it's because they have ideas and the freedom to express them. Everything will be wide open. It's alright if their thoughts are influenced by politics but they shouldn't take this opportunity to promote their political party's standpoint.

If [a member of the NRC] is representing a political party it'll be chaos. Problems would occur when political parties gained different amounts of representatives in the council. However, the NRC welcomes all political parties to share their thoughts on the reform process.    

Khaosod: Should there be a referendum before declaring a new constitution?   

Thienchay: We are open to any opinions while the process of drafting a new constitution moves forward, but whether there will be a referendum in the future is something we have to consider. If we want to vote on a referendum, we should extend the drafting process. I believe that the people of Thailand have a right to determine whether they want a referendum or not.  Even though our law limits referendum-related activities, it could be changed. The National Legislative Assembly and the National Council for Peace and Order have that power.

Khaosod: Do you think one year is enough time to draft a new constitution?

Thienchay: I think it's enough but it might be tiresome. It's good to have a time-limit because it urges us to push things forward.