Drop the charges against Andy Hall now

“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

Human rights activist Andy Hall has been convicted in the Thai courts for reporting on labor rights abuses in the Thai pineapple industry. In 2013, a report which included some of Andy’s research was published. it 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. After a bitter legal fight, Andy was found guilty and sentenced to a three year suspended sentence and a fine of 150,000 Baht.

We now need to call on the Thai Government to do the right thing and ensure that all remaining 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.²

Please show your support for Andy and migrant workers that remain vulnerable to modern slavery in Thailand: take action to demand that the remaining charges are dropped now.