"Appeals Court Region 9 overturns previous verdict, allowing Myanmar trafficking survivors to be co-plaintiffs for the human trafficking offence", 8 Aug 2016

…[W]orkers in [the] fishing sector…asked to be co-plaintiffs in the case filed by the Trang public prosecutor against Mrs. Somjit or Mesaw Srisawang and others, altogether 10, for…[a] trafficking in persons offence and violation of the Penal Code…Previously, the Provincial Court of Trang only allowed the victims to be co-plaintiffs on the offences against the Penal Code and dismissed the request to be co-plaintiffs in the human trafficking offence since the Court deemed the offence against the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act B.E 2551 (2008) an offence against the state…The…[aggrieved] parties did not agree with the verdict and submitted an appeal to the Appeals Court Region 9 claiming the infringement has been made directly against their lives, bodies, freedom and health. Therefore, they…have the right to [directly participate in] the criminal justice process and to get their remedies according to the law.

On 26 July 2016, the Provincial Court of Trang…read the verdict of the Appeals Court Region 9 on the request to become co-plaintiffs…[and stated that] “…The damaged parties should therefore be treated as the persons bearing the direct impact of the act and should be entitled to become co-plaintiffs in the case…That the Lower Court had denied them the right to become co-plaintiffs was therefore invalid”…