A Thai activist, Sutharee Wannasiri, exposed a poultry company’s violation of labor laws on Twitter in 2017 by sharing a video of an interview with a worker. The company responded by suing her for defamation, and even though she was found not guilty in 2020, the company sued her colleague Puttanee Kangkun for speaking out in her defense on Twitter and Facebook. Thammakaset, the poultry company, has filed 39 lawsuits, mostly criminal defamation cases, against 23 individuals, including migrant workers, human rights defenders, and journalists, since 2016. Thailand is notorious for aggressively using criminal defamation laws to stifle public criticism, leading to lengthy legal battles and even prison time. Thammakaset has lost all cases except one, and three are still ongoing.
Phil Robertson, the deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division, claims that the Thai elites exploit the courts to intimidate critics, and they find it effective because the courts accept almost every case that is, on its face, nonsensical. Moreover, Thailand has laws that make it a crime to upload false information or criticize the monarchy, making it easier for powerful figures to go after their critics. The Thai government amended its Criminal Procedure Code in 2018, making it simpler for defendants to get cases dismissed if they were acting in the public interest, but lawyers claim that little has changed. The women, including Angkhana Neelapaijit, a former National Human Rights Commissioner in Thailand, face accusations of defamation and libel from Thammakaset for expressing solidarity with activists persecuted by the company.
During a hearing in March, Chanchai Pheamphon, the owner of Thammakaset, claimed that his business and reputation have been hurt despite paying the workers who filed the labor complaint, and that he has to defend himself against criticism. He said that he could not continue doing business because no one wanted to work with him anymore due to the online criticism. However, two rights groups discovered that a new company called Srabua was established at the same address as Mr. Chanchai after Thammakaset canceled its poultry farm certifications in 2016, raising questions about his claims.
The use of criminal defamation charges and other laws has cost Thai taxpayers $3.45 million since 2016 to 2018, according to the Thai Human Rights Lawyers Association. Ms. Puttanee and Ms. Thanaporn’s lawyer Sor Rattanamanee Polkla filed a petition to dismiss the defamation and libel charges under the amendment provision, but the court denied it. The women face lengthy legal battles as the cases are expected to take years to resolve, with the plaintiffs hoping to drag out the process and intimidate the defendants. In the meantime, the defendants suffer enormous personal and financial costs, and it may become even harder to speak out in the future.
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