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| Thai court dismisses defamation case against UK activist Andy Hall | Thai court dismisses defamation case against UK activist Andy Hall |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A Thai court has dismissed a criminal defamation case against a British labour activist on a technicality. | A Thai court has dismissed a criminal defamation case against a British labour activist on a technicality. |
| A Thai pineapple company brought the case against Andy Hall after a report he wrote which alleged labour abuses by the firm and others. | A Thai pineapple company brought the case against Andy Hall after a report he wrote which alleged labour abuses by the firm and others. |
| The court said the attorney general was not involved in the investigation, which is legally required. | The court said the attorney general was not involved in the investigation, which is legally required. |
| Mr Hall, 34, faces other charges of violating Thailand's computer crimes act. | |
| Last year, Mr Hall authored a report for Finnwatch, a Finland-based watchdog, alleging poor labour conditions in seafood and pineapple export companies in Thailand. | Last year, Mr Hall authored a report for Finnwatch, a Finland-based watchdog, alleging poor labour conditions in seafood and pineapple export companies in Thailand. |
| Natural fruit, which brought the charges, was one of the companies named and denies the findings of the report. | |
| The defamation charges relate to an interview Mr Hall gave to the Al-Jazeera network on the allegations in the report while in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). | |
| "Hall gave the interview outside of the Kingdom of Thailand therefore the investigation into the case had to include a team of police and officials from the attorney-general's office," a judge said. | |
| "However, there was only one police officer at the time of his interrogation, therefore we deem the investigation to be incomplete." | |
| On Finnwatch's Facebook page Mr Hall said: "I'm delighted at today's court ruling. It's real victory for migrant workers, labour rights, rule of law, freedom of expression in Thailand". | |
| A lawyer for Natural Fruit said the company would appeal against the decision. Mr Hall also still faces a number of other civil and criminal defamation cases brought by the firm. | |
| He has also been charged with violation of the computer crimes act, which holds a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. | |
| Thailand imports migrant labour from neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Cambodia and Myanmar often hired for farming, fishing and construction jobs. | |
| However, many work without official permits and are paid below minimum wage. |