Migrants win case

BANGKOK: A court in Thailand has dismissed criminal defamation charges brought against 14 migrant workers by their former employer, a poultry farm they had accused of labour and human rights violations.

The case filed by Thammakaset Company claimed it had suffered losses due to allegations made by the workers in a 2016 complaint filed with Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission.

The company said the allegations against it caused Thai agribusiness giant Betagro to drop it as a supplier. The workers’ supporters say such lawsuits have a chilling effect on whistle-blowers.

Defence lawyer Nakhon Chomphuchat confirmed that Bangkok’s Don Muang Magistrate’s Court ruled yesterday that the workers’ claims of abuses were made in good faith and with a basis in the facts, absolving them of responsibility.