Bangkok (AsiaNews) – A ruling handed down seven years after the start of the legal proceedings (and more than three years after the acquittal by the court of first instance in 2023),
may have brought the proceedings to a close. The case involved Thai Senator Angkhana Neelapaijit (a former member of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and National Human Rights Commissioner, who was awarded the Magsaysay Award in 2019 for her commitment to the marginalised) and two well-known human rights activists: Puttanee Kangkun (director of the local branch of the organisation Fortify Rights) and Thanaporn Saleephol, who was Fortify Rights’ communications officer.
This case has once again highlighted the use – far from uncommon in Thailand – of defamation charges to silence voices of dissent or those defending human rights. The case stemmed from a labour dispute that began in 2016 concerning a poultry farm in Lopburi province run by the company Thammakaset. It was triggered by a complaint lodged with the authorities and the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand by 14 migrant workers from Myanmar, alleging precarious working conditions at the farm.
The allegations were rejected by the company, which in turn sued the workers for defamation and for making false statements to a public official. In July 2018, the Bangkok-Don Mueang Court of First Instance acquitted all 14 workers, and in May of the following year, the Court of Appeal dismissed the company’s appeal, making the acquittals final. Furthermore, the relevant labour authorities and the Labour Court had ordered the company to pay the workers 1.7 million baht (approximately 50,000 euros) in compensation.
The subsequent defamation case brought by Thammakaset against the three activists who had campaigned in defence of the workers concerned social media posts or shares expressing solidarity with activists and migrant workers involved in legal proceedings initiated by the company. The 30 charges of alleged defamation each carried a potential sentence of up to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of 200,000 Thai baht (approximately 5,300 euros).
“This case clearly demonstrates how legal action has been used to harass and intimidate people, causing serious physical and emotional harm to those who have been taken to court,” said Angkhana Neelapaijit, who is also the widow of an activist who disappeared on 24 March 2004 after being abducted by unknown assailants in Bangkok.
“It has taken seven years to reach this point. I hope the judges will not allow the appeal to the Supreme Court, so that this case can finally be brought to a close. This would help restore justice for women who defend human rights and follow the guidance of the Chief Justice, who has stated that legal proceedings should never be used as a tool to harass people or restrict their rights and freedoms.”
For her part, Puttanee Kangkun, director of Fortify Rights and one of the former defendants, pointed out that people should never face criminal charges simply for speaking out on workers’ rights. She added: “Today’s ruling brings us enormous relief, but it cannot give us back the seven years we spent defending ourselves. Thailand – which is due to undergo the Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on 9 November – should decriminalise defamation, so that others do not have to go through what we have experienced.”
