A court in Bangkok dismisses criminal defamation charges against workers from Burma who accused a chicken farm of abuses, in a landmark ruling seen as a rare victory for migrant workers’ rights in Thailand.

Thousands of Muslim migrant workers from Burma risk being fined and deported from Thailand after June 30, under a new law that campaigners say may increase abuse and trafficking.

A group of migrant workers from Burma will fight a landmark case in Thailand after they were charged in court on Wednesday with criminal defamation for accusing a chicken farm that supplies the European Union of mistreatment and labour abuses.

Thailand needs to get tough on illegal migrant workers to meet commitments it has made to the international community to combat human trafficking, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha says.

Tens of thousands of workers have fled Thailand, most of them for homes in neighbouring Burma, after new labour regulations adopted by the military government sparked fear and panic among the migrant community.

A group of Burmese migrant workers in western Thailand’s Prachuap Khiri Khan province face possible deportation after demanding Songkran holiday wages that they say their employer promised but has not paid out.

Thailand’s Labour Ministry has urged migrant workers to have their nationalities verified by their respective countries or risk being deported after their work permits expire this year.