While the findings of an investigation into worker conditions at Natural Fruit have been partially confirmed by the Thai Ministry of Labour and an employee in court, the report's co-author will face a hearing today (July 20) in a case that could see him face up to seven years in prison.

Andy Hall

British researcher Andy Hall won a small victory in October last year when one of four cases brought against him by pineapple juice processor Natural Fruit Company was dismissed, but now it has come to light that the Thai Attorney General has sought to overturn the ruling.

While the issue only involves one company, Natural Fruit's CEO Wirat Piyapornpaiboon is also the president of the Thai Pineapple Industry Association (TPIA).

On his twitter account, Hall described the criminal and computer crimes case due for a final preliminary hearing today as the "most serious" of all, and in the lead-up around 30 international organizations have written an open letter to Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha demanding an end to the "harassment of researchers and human rights defenders" in the South East Asian country.

The cases against Hall revolve around the Finnwatch report Cheap has a high price: Responsibility problems relating to international private label products and food production in Thailand, published in January, 2013, as well as a subsequent interview with Al Jazeera.

"Since the publication of Cheap Has a High Price, violations of labour rights at the Natural Fruit Pranburi plant have been partially confirmed by the Ministry of Labour's own investigation," the undersigned have written in the letter, with groups such as Walk Free Movement Against Modern Slavery, the International Labor Rights Forum and the International Trade Union Confederation among the petitioners.

"Also a Natural Fruit employee, who gave testimony to the Bangkok Prakanong Court in September 2014, told the court that he had been working at the Natural Fruit Pranburi plant for years without papers and receiving wages below the minimum wage, and that unlawful deductions were made from his salary.

"He testified without hesitation that the factory hired dozens of children and commissions for long hours of overtime that were not voluntary."

The letter questions why no one had been held responsible for the alleged human rights violations at Natural Fruit's Pranburi plant.

"We are calling on the Thai government to, without further delay, bring to justice those responsible for human rights violations at the Natural Fruit Pranburi plant in a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial court of law," the letter says

"Since the beginning of the first criminal case against Andy Hall, several international, independent observers, including the UN Working Group on human rights and transnational companies and four UN Special Rapporteurs, have expressed concern that the ongoing criminal cases against him are an act of retaliation for his human rights work

"As such, they may have a chilling effect on other human rights defenders and civil society activists working in Thailand and elsewhere to expose human rights violations perpetrated by non-State actors, including business enterprises."

The groups highlight it is of the "utmost importance" that all proceedings against Hall meet the international criteria for fairness.

"Unfortunately, the previous hearings have been marred with the prosecution's failure to make full disclosure to the defence of all evidence available to them, Thai authorities' failure to provide critically important information to the defence when requested, and witness intimidation among other issues," they say.

"We are calling on the Thai government to guarantee that human rights defenders in Thailand, including journalists and researchers, can carry out their legitimate human rights work without fear of harassment, reprisals, arbitrary detention, criminal charges and unfair trials.

"This includes the abolition of the laws that allow for criminal responsibility and possible deprivation of liberty in alleged defamation cases as we consider this a disproportionate punishment and a violation of the right to freedom of expression. As such, criminal defamation charges against Andy Hall should be immediately and unconditionally dropped."

'Ridiculous' allegations

In a release, Finnwatch executive director Sonja Vartiala said the allegations against Andy Hall were ridiculous.

"Finnwatch bears the responsibility for the publication and contents of the report, not Hall," she said.

Vartiala also claimed the Attorney General's appeal against a case that had already been thrown out of court had "no grounds whatsoever".

"Thailand is continuing to harass a human rights defender despite a court decision and its obligation to uphold freedom of speech," she said.

"Thai authorities must show that they do not turn a blind eye to illegalities. We demand the Thai government to take Natural Fruit to court for labour rights violations," Vartiala said.

She also slammed the TPIA's association with Natural Fruit, and the fact it too has not urged the company to drop the charges against Hall.

"The continuing leadership position of Natural Fruit in Thailand's pineapple industry should be a cause of concern also for all customers of other TPIA member companies," she said.

"By siding with Natural Fruit, the other TPIA members have shown great disregard for human rights and freedom of expression – a worrying attitude to have as an employer in a sector rife with labour rights violations."

After the case today, the court will decide whether to indict Hall or not. If indicted, he will be arrested and detained pending bail, and will then face trial.

The ongoing case does not bode well for Thailand's international reputation in how the state and judicial systems handle migrant worker issues. In June last year, the U.S. State Department downgraded the country to the lowest tier in its Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.

Today's hearing comes as a verdict awaits in September for another controversial defamation case, brought by the Royal Thai Navy against two Thailand-based reporters who cited a Pulitzer Prize-winning Reuters story about human trafficking.

Despite the threat of punishment faced in Hall's current trial, the Briton has also been fighting for fairness in the murder trial against two Myanmar migrants who are accused of the murder of two British tourists on the island of Koh Tao last year.

Readers can visit our Andy Hall tag page with comprehensive coverage of the academic's plight since litigation began in early 2013. In July last year, www.freshfruitportal.com took its position on the issue, calling on Natural Fruit to drop the charges.

www.freshfruitportal.com