Bangkok court bans British activist Andy Hall from traveling outside Thailand

[webfact]

Bangkok court bans British activist Andy Hall from traveling outside Thailand
by Asian Correspondent Staff

BANGKOK: -- A BANGKOK court confiscated the passport of British migrant rights defender Andy Hall and banned him from traveling outside of the country Wednesday.

The order was handed down following a bail request submission ahead of his indictment next week (January 18) on criminal defamation and computer crimes offenses charges brought against him by Thai pineapple exporter Natural Fruit Company Ltd.

While Hall was granted bail Wednesday, he was ordered not to leave Thailand before the case has been ruled on by the Court.

Full story: http://asiancorrespondent.com/2016/01/bangkok-court-bans-british-activist-andy-hall-from-traveling-outside-thailand/

-- ASIAN CORRESPONDENT 2016-01-13

[HooHaa]

certainly solves any visa issues he may have.

[NextStationBangkok]

HRW will rope in soon.

Andy was in Geneva few months ago to submit the evidences of factories abusing immigrant labors. Also Shrimp peeling by immigrant labors is another human right abuse.

Soon or near future expect an import ban in US and in EU from Thai factories.... That is the only solution.

[Confuscious]

Was this case not dismissed?

www.thaivisa.com/.../856787-criminal-case-against-finnwatch-researcher- andy-hall-dismissed-again/

news.thaivisa.com/thailand/criminal-case...andy-hall.../114721/

[mrrizzla]

Right around the time that the B2 will launch their appeal.

How convenient.

[iReason]

Edited January 13, 2016 by iReason

[Basil B]

Do not feel he will get much support from the UK Gov...

To busy tying up a G2G, MOD sale of surplus Ski's, Skidoos other Arctic Warfare clobber to Thailand...

Edited January 13, 2016 by Basil B

[BritTim]

Was this case not dismissed?

www.thaivisa.com/.../856787-criminal-case-against-finnwatch-researcher- andy-hall-dismissed-again/

news.thaivisa.com/thailand/criminal-case...andy-hall.../114721/

So far, Andy has kept winning in court. However, the strategy seems to be to keep filing cases until they can make one stick.

[jsgatse]

I should just have this comment in my full-time cut and paste since it seems to be needed daily:

Shame on Thailand! Karma's gonna eventually get you (let's hope!) one way or the other!

[ChrisY1]

Just another case of media suppression.......the truth hurts here............Andy reports truthfully and the junta doesn't want this..........shame on the government!

[siliconvalley]

Wow....

Why is the Thai government interfering with private corporations?

Because Andy Hall is right.

Just watch......He will be dead soon. The police, the MPs, and Natural Fruit are now trying to plan how he can die accidently....

Hanging.....No

Drugs......No

Some Burma guy?.....Maybe.

Best bet......Heart Attack......aka Poison

[FloridaExport]

Interesting to know that they can confiscate passports when a real crime, like defamation, is committed. Too bad they don't do it for people accused of lessor crimes, like murder.

Edited January 13, 2016 by FloridaExport

[jacky54]

Brave bloke, would not like to be in his shoes.

[chainarong]

Was this case not dismissed?

www.thaivisa.com/.../856787-criminal-case-against-finnwatch-researcher- andy-hall-dismissed-again/

news.thaivisa.com/thailand/criminal-case...andy-hall.../114721/

So far, Andy has kept winning in court. However, the strategy seems to be to keep filing cases until they can make one stick.

They do that to each other so Andy hasn't much hope.

[cornishcarlos]

Brave bloke, would not like to be in his shoes.

Me neither ! I've heard he wears a size 9 and I'm a 10.5..

[ldiablo]

Do the Thai courts have the right to confiscate his passport considering in reality it belongs to Britain.

[chainarong]

Wow....

Why is the Thai government interfering with private corporations?

Because Andy Hall is right.

Just watch......He will be dead soon. The police, the MPs, and Natural Fruit are now trying to plan how he can die accidently....

Hanging.....No

Drugs......No

Some Burma guy?.....Maybe.

Best bet......Heart Attack......aka Poison

I think you maybe R thinking of the respectable Thai custom, the disappearing trick.

[Khun Han]

Do the Thai courts have the right to confiscate his passport considering in reality it belongs to Britain.

Good question. A British passport is issued in the name of the Crown. I wonder if stealing it/confiscating it without reference to it's true owner crosses over into lese majeste in some way (as in disrespecting the authority of the Crown).

[Emster23]

As passport is property of Brit government, seems if he wanted to he could go to embassy and get a new one, report previous as stolen (by Thai government). I do hope gov put similar travel restrictions against management of fruit company.

[BritTim]

Wow....

Why is the Thai government interfering with private corporations?

Because Andy Hall is right.

Just watch......He will be dead soon. The police, the MPs, and Natural Fruit are now trying to plan how he can die accidently....

Hanging.....No

Drugs......No

Some Burma guy?.....Maybe.

Best bet......Heart Attack......aka Poison

I think suicide based on his remorse at damaging Thailand' pristine international reputation.

[Maejo Man]

Wow....

Why is the Thai government interfering with private corporations?

Because Andy Hall is right.

Just watch......He will be dead soon. The police, the MPs, and Natural Fruit are now trying to plan how he can die accidently....

Hanging.....No

Drugs......No

Some Burma guy?.....Maybe.

Best bet......Heart Attack......aka Poison

As was the case with someone I know from Melbourne. He found that the managing director had embezzled millions of baht.

A former chairman of the Australian Red Cross who had been awarded the Order of Australia for services to charity, Mr Wansley, 58, was shot dead by a gunman on the back of a motorcycle while employed by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu to investigate financial malpractice at Thai sugar mills.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/thailand-reverses-death-sentences-for-two-men-who-murdered-australian-michael-wansley-20150225-13oy7r.html#ixzz3x7LYxIzN

[docshock13]

Twisted.

Kill cyclists? Just pay. Carry on.

Traffic undocumented workers? Just pay. Carry on.

Negligently kill tourists while operating a motor vehicle under the influence? Just pay. Carry on.

Expose the moral cess pit that hides behind "tradition" and a perverted version of Buddhism? Get crucified!

Feel free to add to the list. I could go on but do not want to lose my posting priveleges.

Pathetic and disheartening. A modern day Sodom.

[pgrahmm]

Thinking out loud via keyboard ....couldn't he leave via the UK embassy under diplomatic cover/PP (re)issue - if they assisted? Once in there he's in UK territory.....

[ChrisY1]

As passport is property of Brit government, seems if he wanted to he could go to embassy and get a new one, report previous as stolen (by Thai government). I do hope gov put similar travel restrictions against management of fruit company.

Ok....so his passport is British government property........the Thais confiscated it.........next move???

[tbthailand]

this is harassment by Natural Fruit Company Ltd...

Just for the record, the people behind the company are...

Natural Fruit is owned by the family members (brothers and sisters) of the General-Secretary of the Democrat Party of Thailand.^[8]

My guess is that Andy should not expect any support from the current, self-appointed "government"...

[timewilltell]

It is a court process and Thai courts will grab a foreigners passport regardless of circumstances. They have mine on a suspended and completely spurious case. So any trumped up story will do and lawyers know how to get cases accepted. For Thais they can rape and murder but are not required to relinquish their passports of course.

The passport is the property of the crown and you will be issued a new one on application but it won't help you leave the country because there is no visa in a new passport and anyway your name is very well marked in the Thai immigration computers. Actually the seizing if passport and requirement to go on a monthly court visa are just to create as much aggravation as possible since you need paperwork every three months from the court and frequent visits to immigration to get the short term visas. It is just an example of blatant racist discrimination. Immanuel if you were an investor and got sued in such a case by a rival just to stop you traveling and tie you up in red tape! Yet the UK embassy still encourage investment to lure more people into this scamming cheating country.

[Ulic]

I thought this case was dismissed, I was obviously mistaken. Not sure the Thai government

understands that continuing this case only shines a light on Thai company infractions in

business practices. Slavery and child labour are frowned on in the EU and North America.

Things may move slowly but Thailand should not be surprised when Thai imports of fruit

and fish/shrimp are banned in Europe and North America.

[HooHaa]

Do the Thai courts have the right to confiscate his passport considering in reality it belongs to Britain.

Good question. A British passport is issued in the name of the Crown. I wonder if stealing it/confiscating it without reference to it's true owner crosses over into lese majeste in some way (as in disrespecting the authority of the Crown).

that would require the assumption that the "crown" have similarly draconian lese majeste laws in place.

[facthailand]

certainly solves any visa issues he may have.

I think you may be wrong. I suspect that, even though his passport with visa information is not in his possession, he still has to show up for 90 day reporting and extension when due.

Police & govt onviously consider him an interfering troublemaker even though he tries to make Thailand better for all of us as well as the voiceless labourers, migrants, and boat people.

[jcsmith]

Perfect timing, right before Thailand needs to convince EU they are on the up and up.