The Annual Report of the Human Rights in Oman – 2014

 

  • January 2: Human rights activist Khalfan Al-Badawi left the Sultanate of Oman due to increased harassment and threats against him, settling in London. This marks the second departure of a human rights activist among those who participated in the 2011 movements and were arrested in the famous opinion case (The Awakening) in 2012. He was abducted twice by the Internal Security Service (intelligence) after being ambushed on the street (April/November 2013).
  • January 23: Omani physician Dr. Muslim Al-Kathiri was detained in secret detention centers of the Internal Security Service (intelligence) after being summoned via telephone. This was due to his publication of numerous opinions related to administrative corruption in the government and his objection to the arrest of parliamentarian Talib Al-Maamari. He was later released without specific charges or referral of his case to court.
  • February 20: Suspension of Omani television sports presenter Khalid Al-Shakili from work following his repeated demands to improve work quality and production. This is not the first time a presenter or employee at the Public Authority for Radio and Television has been suspended since Dr. Abdullah Al-Harasi assumed the position of authority director with the rank of minister in October 2011.
  • February 25: The Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeal’s ruling against parliamentarian Talib Al-Maamari, Municipal Council member Saqr Al-Balushi, and 6 other citizens. The appeal court had sentenced them on December 16, 2013, to varying prison terms, with Al-Maamari receiving a 4-year sentence. The retrial was conducted at the primary court.
  • February 26: Labor strike at Octal Petroleum Company in protest against the dismissal of the company’s labor union president and the failure to implement their demands to improve certain job and financial conditions.
  • February 28: Suspension of activities of the “Sohar” cultural initiative known as “Elixir,” where the Omani Internal Security Service (intelligence) deliberately intervened to halt a cultural seminar by the initiative at a restaurant in Sohar city on a book by Noam Chomsky titled “Media Control.”
  • March 20: A strike and protests by a number of students in several schools in northern Al Batinah in protest against the results of the General Secondary Education Certificate Examination, following the Ministry of Education’s adoption of an electronic correction system, which was doubted by many students and their parents who demanded its cancellation and reevaluation of exam papers.
  • March 21: The death of Omani citizen Imad Al-Saifi in a car collision caused by a member of the ruling family in Oman named Rawi Al-Said. The case later took several bizarre turns, including a publication ban, trials turning into secrecy, the victim’s family dropping the case, and the accused being charged with traffic law violations, resisting a public official, insulting him, and causing unrest while intoxicated. Despite varying prison sentences, with the harshest being one year, the judge who issued the Sultan Qaboos decree on May 12, 2014, decided to release Rawi Al-Said, and suspend the sentence, limiting it to the time he spent in prison, which did not exceed 3 days!!! He was also ordered to pay compensation to the victim’s mother, amounting to 10,000 OMR.
  • April: Escalation of the “Medical Regulations” crisis related to employees of the Ministry of Health with various designations, specifications, and grades. Several doctors, assistant doctors, nurses, and technicians went on strike at several hospitals in Oman’s different regions due to the Ministry of Health issuing medical regulations following Ministerial Decision (24/2013), conflicting with the Royal Decree (33/2013) regarding the rescheduling of ranks and salaries for doctors, assistant doctors, nurses, technicians, etc.
  • May 7: Arrest of several Omani citizens for unknown reasons, with many of their relatives speculating that it was due to their demand for the release of Talib Al-Maamari and their communication with several human rights organizations regarding this matter. The detained citizens were:
    • Ibrahim Al-Balushi
    • Talal Al-Maamari
    • Nasser Al-Yahyai
    • Saeed Al-Zaidi They were later released after two months.
  • May 22: Prohibition of publication and circulation of anything related to the trial of former or current government officials and some executives of major companies in corruption cases by order of the Administrative Court in Muscat.

 

  • May 28: The Administrative Court in Muscat issued a judgment banning the publication and distribution of a short story collection titled “Salt” by Omani writer Badriya Al-Ismaili. The court ordered the withdrawal of all distributed copies from the markets and the destruction of available copies in the Cultural Club’s stores, the Ministry of Information, or any other official institution. This decision came after social uproar accompanied the book due to containing phrases deemed offensive to society and its customs, according to the lawsuit filed to the public prosecutor.
  • June 26: Labor strike by employees of Lulu Hypermarket centers (specifically the accountants category) in many branches across Oman. The strike witnessed police intervention under the pretext of ensuring no security issues, and several strikers were summoned to the public prosecutor’s offices. An agreement was later reached after intervention from the Omani Labor Union to establish several agreed-upon terms between the striking parties and the responsible company, leading to the end of the strike.
  • July 9: A verdict was issued to arrest teacher Ahmed Al-Bahri for one year with a suspended sentence, in addition to paying a fine of 1000 OMR (2,600 USD). The background of the case stems from the famous teachers’ strike carried out by many teachers and schools starting from October 2013, despite the strike being suspended in November after security authorities pledged not to pursue any of the strikers. However, Ahmed was pursued, along with others, and his case was referred to court before the aforementioned verdict was issued.
  • July 12: Human rights activist Nooh Al-Saadi was arrested and disappeared into one of the secret detention centers of the Internal Security Service (intelligence), without being allowed to meet with a lawyer or disclose the location of his detention. He was released after a month without the announcement of charges or the reason for his arrest. Additionally, blogger and writer Muawiya Al-Rawahi was arrested for criticizing the performance of the Internal Security Service and its interference in state institutions. Al-Rawahi was initially held in a secret detention center before being transferred to Al-Masarra Hospital for psychiatric diseases and then to the university hospital. After more than a month, he was released.
  • August 5: A verdict was issued against Shura Council member Dr. Talib Al-Maamari, who had been detained since August 2013, sentencing him to four years in prison. This came after the Supreme Court on February 25, 2014, annulled the previous ruling against him from the appeal court on December 16, 2013, due to procedural errors. This time, he was convicted of gathering and undermining the state’s prestige, in addition to a fine (1820 USD – 700 OMR). Others involved in the case were also sentenced, including Municipal Council member Saqr Al-Balushi (one year in prison and a fine of 520 USD) and Abdulrahman Al-Ghaithi (seven months in prison and a fine of 260 USD). On October 30, the appeal upheld the verdict against Talib Al-Maamari, reducing the sentence to only 3 years, while Saqr Al-Balushi’s sentence was reduced to one year, and the previous ruling against Abdulrahman Al-Ghaithi was annulled.
  • August 12: The Sultanate Decree 38/2014 was issued, regulating Omani nationality matters. It contained very dangerous articles concerning human rights activists, politicians, and journalists without naming them, making them subject to revocation of citizenship without the authorities needing to clarify the reasons. Article 20 of Chapter 4 and Article 4 of Chapter 1 of the decree stated that courts should not be involved in any dispute related to citizenship revocation!
  • August 29: Omani security authorities, represented by the Internal Security Service, intervened to shut down the “Elixir” cultural salon in Sohar (northern Oman), following previous closures of several cultural salons such as “Reading: Light and Insight” in the capital Muscat, and “Samail Cultural Salon,” as well as several cultural and artistic events at Sultan Qaboos University.
  • August 31: Omani security authorities, represented by the Internal Security Service, arrested Omani activist and Citizen magazine editor-in-chief Mohammed Al-Fazari, keeping him in a secret detention center without allowing him to communicate with his lawyer or disclose the location of his detention. Al-Fazari was released after ten days without knowing the reason for his arrest or the charges against him. Later, on December 22, the security authorities prevented Al-Fazari from traveling and detained him for hours before releasing him and confiscating his official documents (passport and ID card), making Mohammed Al-Fazari the second Omani citizen to be prevented from traveling for unknown reasons, after Saeed Jaddad was prevented earlier.
  • September 13: Labor strike at Oman Aluminium Processing Industries Company, called for by the general assembly of the company’s labor union, protesting the job and financial conditions of the company’s workers.
  • October 9: Omani writer and visual artist Saeed Al-Daroodi was arrested by security authorities, represented by the Internal Security Service, after writing a post on his Facebook account boasting that he is “Dhofari and not Omani.” Al-Daroodi was placed in a secret detention center and prevented from communicating with his family or meeting with a lawyer. He was later released on November 5 without knowing the charges against him.
  • October 9: Omani citizen Mohammed Al-Batashi, known on Facebook as “Al-Muntaqim Billah Al-Batashi,” was arrested after being abducted from the street when cars belonging to special forces surrounded him in his private car with his family. He was bound in front of them and taken to an unknown location before being transferred to the police station in Bousher and placed in solitary confinement without allowing his family to visit him or contact a lawyer. Al-Batashi was later released on November 11, and he was charged with “insulting His Majesty the Sultan,” according to his account. His case will be referred to the judiciary for trial.
  • October 30: The appeal verdict against Talib Al-Maamari and Saqr Al-Balushi (return to the details related to August 5).
  • October 31: Omani human rights activist Saeed Jaddad was prevented from traveling without knowing the reasons, while he was on his way to Istanbul to participate in a training session for the Front Line Defenders organization. Jaddad was later arrested on December 10, after a raid by security authorities, represented by the Internal Security Service, on his house, and he was placed in a secret location without allowing him to communicate with his family or meet with a lawyer. On December 21, Jaddad was released on bail, but he remained banned from traveling and was subjected to surveillance and restrictions.
  • November 24: Citizens Mohammed Al-Sulti and Ghazi Al-Awlaqi, activists on social media, disappeared after receiving a call from the Internal Security Service (intelligence) requesting their presence at the department (the executive branch of the Internal Security Service). There has been no trace of Mohammed or Ghazi since then until December 9, when they were released.
  • December 10: Human rights activist Saeed Jaddad was arrested (for more details, refer back to the paragraph related to October 31).
  • December 22: Mohammed Al-Fazari, activist and editor-in-chief of Citizen magazine, was prevented from traveling and arrested for hours before being released and having all his official documents withdrawn (for more details, refer back to the paragraph related to August 31).
  • December 29: Omani writer and thinker Ali Al-Rawahi was arrested due to tweets in which he called for holding corrupt individuals accountable and demanding rights. Al-Rawahi was taken to an unknown location and later released on January 2, 2015, without knowing if any specific charges were brought against him.
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