BANGKOK (AP) — Three human rights activists were acquitted Tuesday of criminally defaming a Thai poultry company with social media posts that supported other activists who had accused it of abusive labor practices, according to the defendants and their lawyer. They were charged under a law that could have led to a 42-year prison sentence if convicted. The company, Thammakaset, said the defendants’ social media comments linked indirectly to what it called a defamatory video produced by a human ri
BANGKOK — Three human rights activists were acquitted Tuesday of criminally defaming a Thai poultry company with social media posts that supported other activists who had accused it of abusive labor practices, according to the defendants and their lawyer.
Since 2016, Thammakaset has initiated at least 37 lawsuits against 22 individuals, including migrant workers, human rights activists and journalists, with the majority being women, according to Fortify Rights.Workers at Thammakaset had filed a complaint with Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission in 2016. The workers said they worked up to 20 hours a day for over 40 days without a day off, they lacked overtime compensation and their identity documents were confiscated.
“To be honest, I don’t feel happy or relieved because we endured almost four years of court proceedings only to have the cases dismissed," said Thanaporn Saleephol, a former Fortify Rights worker. "This is actually the purpose because it aims to get the human rights defenders to waste time and energy.”
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