DROP THE CHARGES AGAINST ANDY HALL NOW

Andy Hall new hero 2

“This is about persecution. It’s a political case to try and silence me… I’m someone that’s revealing things that the government and the industry don’t want me to reveal.” – Andy Hall1

CAMPAIGN UPDATES

19 October 2015: Andy’s indictment hearing was postponed until 18 January 2016. This hearing relates to Andy’s charge of computer crime and criminal defamation and requires him to make an official plea.

18 September 2015: Thai judges upheld a decision made last year to dismiss charges of criminal defamation against Andy for an interview he gave to Al Jazeera on the rights of migrant workers in a Natural Fruit factory.  Natural Fruit refused to let this drop and appealed the court’s decision. We’re pleased that justice was sustained and the case has been dismissed for good.

24 August 2015: Andy Hall was indicted by the Bangkok South Criminal Court and charged with criminal defamation and computer crime. The trial is due to start in early 2016, and if Andy is found guilty he faces 7 years in jail and charges of £7 million. We condemn this decision and urge the Thai authorities to do everything in their power to ensure these charges are dropped immediately – join us by sending them a message using the form on the right now.

 

Human rights activist Andy Hall will soon find out if he faces time in prison for reporting on labour rights abuses in the Thai pineapple industry. In 2013 a report including some of his research was published which included allegations of worker abuse and slavery-like practices in the Natural Fruit factory, a Thai company that processes pineapples and supplies retailers around the world.

Instead of looking into the allegations, Natural Fruit targeted Andy. He was hauled into court on charges of computer crime and criminal defamation.

Despite an international outcry, Natural Fruit have not backed down.2 We now need to call on the Thai government to do the right thing and ensure that all charges against Andy Hall are dropped.

The Thai authorities are already facing global scrutiny for not doing enough to protect workers from abuse — the latest US Trafficking in Persons report gives Thailand the lowest score for action to tackle trafficking.3

We have just a short time to make a difference in this case. Please show your support for Andy and migrant workers that remain vulnerable to modern slavery in Thailand: take action to demand that these charges are dropped now.

SOURCES

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAvXe6TjdPE
  2. http://www.walkfree.org/andy-hall/
  3. http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/tip2015statements.html

TUC

The TUC is Britain’s trade union centre, with 52 affiliated unions representing nearly 6 million working people from all walks of life, it campaigns for a fair deal at work and for social justice at home and abroad.

BURMA CAMPAIGN UK

Burma Campaign UK works for human rights, democracy and development in Burma.

ILRF

International Labor Rights Forum is a human rights organization that advocates for workers globally. It holds global corporations accountable for labor rights violations in their supply chains, advances policies and laws that protect workers, and strengthens workers’ ability to advocate for their rights.

FINNWATCH

Finnwatch is a Finnish civil society organisation focussed on social, economic and ecological sustainability in the supply chains of Finnish or strongly-Finland related companies. Natural Fruit brought the cases against Andy Hall following the publication and dissemination of Finnwatch report ‘Cheap Has a High Price’ to which Andy Hall contributed research.