Annual Report of Human Rights Situation in Oman – 2016

- January 14th (Muwatin): The online magazine “Muwatin” ceased publication, ensuring the safety of its editors and staff, according to a statement issued by the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Mohammed Al Fazari, after some of its editors were subjected to security pressures through detention and interrogation.
- February 8th (Hassan Al Basham): Former activist and diplomat Hassan Al Basham was sentenced to 3 years in prison after facing three charges:
- Publicly blasphemy (3 years imprisonment, 500 Omani Rials fine ($1,300)).
- Insulting His Majesty the Sultan (3 years imprisonment, 500 Omani Rials fine ($1,300)).
- Using the information network to undermine religious values (1 year imprisonment, 1,000 Omani Rials fine ($2,600)). Al Basham was later arrested on May 3rd during the appeal period of the verdict, which ended with the confirmation of the previous verdict on June 13th.
- February 17th (Saeed Al Daroodi): The Salalah Appeals Court sentenced writer, researcher, and satirical cartoonist Saeed Al Daroodi to 3 months in prison for a previous post he published on his Facebook account titled: “I am Dhofari, not Omani.” Al Daroodi was previously detained and subsequently sentenced in absentia by the Salalah Court of First Instance on March 18th, 2015, to one year imprisonment for disturbing public order, and six months for incitement and defamation, with a fine of 1,000 Omani Rials ($2,600).
- March 10th and 12th: A group of activists and former prisoners of conscience, including:
- Hilal Al Alawi
- Awad Al Suwafi
- Ammar Al Hinaai were detained due to posts on Facebook and WhatsApp in which they commemorated the anniversary of the protest movement in Sohar, which falls on February 26th of each year. They were later released after several days.
- April 15th (Abdullah Habib): Writer and cinema critic Abdullah Habib Al Muaini was summoned and detained due to his Facebook posts addressing the Dhofar Revolution and demanding the Omani government fulfill its moral duty and disclose the burial locations of “martyrs of the Popular Front” for the years 1972 and 1974. Abdullah was later released on May 3rd. (Refer to July 11th for further details.)
- April 28th (Suleiman Al Mamari): Writer and journalist Suleiman Al Mamari was summoned and detained for condemning the arrest of writer and filmmaker Abdullah Habib and issuing a statement signed by Arab and Omani writers and intellectuals calling for Abdullah’s release. Suleiman was later released on May 19th, 2016.
- May 3rd: Former activist and diplomat Hassan Al Basham was arrested. (Refer back to February 8th for further details.)
- May 4th (Talib Al Mamari): Former Shura Council member Talib Al Mamari was released under a pardon from Sultan Qaboos bin Said – the current Sultan of Oman – two and a half months before the end of his sentence (arrested on August 24th, 2013, due to a protest organized by residents of the Wilayat of Liwa affected by toxic gases emitted from Petrochemical Industries’ facilities at the Sohar Industrial Estate in Sohar Port on August 22nd, 2013. According to witnesses, Al Mamari attended the protest to mediate between the protesters and the government.)
- May 12th (Saoud Al Jamoudi): Citizen Saoud Al Jamoudi was arrested for calling via a WhatsApp group to gather at the popular market in Nizwa City (Interior Governorate) and demanding accountability from Kimji Ramdas Company regarding the adulterated rice case. Al Jamoudi was later transferred to trial, sentenced to 3 months in prison on charges of incitement to gather, and subsequently transferred to Samail Central Prison after spending 22 days in solitary confinement at the Special Section Detention Facilities in Qurum, Muscat Governorate. He was released upon completion of his term on September 1st.
- June 13th (Hassan Al Basham): The Salalah Appeals Court (in the Northern Governorate of Al Batinah) upheld the previous verdict against Hassan Al Basham, sentencing him to 3 years in prison. (Refer back to February 8th for more details.)
- July 11th (Abdullah Habib): Writer and cinema critic Abdullah Habib was summoned and detained for posting several opinions on his Facebook page criticizing various Islamic rituals and practices such as fasting, prayer, and the call to prayer. He was later released on July 28th, and his case was transferred to the Court of First Instance, which, after several sessions, sentenced him to imprisonment on November 8th. (Refer to November 8th.)
- July 25th (Al Mutassim Al Bahlani): Former editor-in-chief of the online magazine Al Falq, Al Mutassim Al Bahlani, was summoned and detained due to several tweets on his Twitter account coinciding with what is known as Renaissance Day, which falls on July 23rd of each year. Al Bahlani was later released on July 28th, and his resignation as editor-in-chief of Al Falq magazine was announced shortly thereafter.
- July 28th (Ibrahim Al Mamari): Editor-in-chief of the newspaper Al Zaman and chairman of its board, poet Ibrahim Al Mamari, was summoned and detained due to a report published by Al Zaman on July 26th titled “High Authorities Interfere with Justice,” which highlighted corruption in the judiciary, implicating individuals including the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council, Issa Al Busaidi. Al Mamari was later brought to trial, as will be detailed later. (Refer to September 26th, December 26th.)
- August 3rd (Zaher Al Abri): Journalist at Al Zaman newspaper, Zaher Al Abri, was summoned and detained due to a tweet on his personal Twitter account criticizing the detention of Al Zaman’s editor-in-chief, Ibrahim Al Mamari. Al Abri was later brought to trial. (Refer to September 26th, December 26th.)
- August 9th (Yousuf Al Haj): Journalist and editor-in-chief of Al Zaman newspaper, Yousuf Al Haj, was abducted from a barber shop. This was in relation to his publication of an interview with Deputy Chief Justice Ali Al Nuaimi on August 7th and 9th, in which Al Nuaimi endorsed several points previously mentioned in Al Zaman’s report “High Authorities Interfere with Justice.” Al Haj was later brought to trial. (Refer to September 26th, December 26th.) Additionally, Minister of Information Abdulmunim Al Hassani issued a ministerial decision to close Al Zaman newspaper, prohibit its publication, and ban its website. Al Hassani justified this decision citing Sultanate Decree (35/2009) and the Press and Publications Law (49/1984).
- August 14th (Hamoud Al Shukaily): Writer and storyteller Hamoud Al Shukaily was abducted from a street in Muscat Governorate due to a poem he published on his Facebook account in solidarity with the detainees of Al Zaman newspaper. Hamoud was later brought to trial. (Refer to October 18th.)
- August 18th (Mohammed Al Harthy): Writer and poet Mohammed Al Harthy was summoned, detained for one day, and released the next day. The reason for Al Harthy’s arrest was a series of tweets he posted on his personal Twitter account expressing solidarity with the journalists of Al Zaman newspaper and the writer and storyteller Hamoud Al Shukaily.
- August 26th (Saeed Jaddad): Human rights activist Saeed Jaddad (Abu Imad) was released upon completing his sentence. Jaddad was arrested on January 21st, 2015, following a riot police attack on his home. He was arrested for his opinions regarding the performance of the security authority and the religious institution. Jaddad had been banned from traveling in 2014 and had been arrested several times before being sentenced in two different courts (Muscat Primary Court and Salalah Primary Court).
- September 26th (Al Zaman Journalists): The Court of First Instance in Muscat issued sentences in the Al Zaman case against its detained journalists, affirming the Minister of Information’s decision to close the newspaper. The sentences were as follows:
- Editor-in-chief of Al Zaman Ibrahim Al Mamari: 3 years imprisonment, a fine of 3,000 Omani Rials (approximately $7,800), and a one-year ban from practicing journalism, with a bail amount of 50,000 Omani Rials ($130,000) if opting to stay out of prison during the appeal process (later reduced to 2,000 Omani Rials, approximately $5,200). Al Mamari faced four charges: disturbing public order, misuse of information networks, publishing personal status case records, and undermining the state’s prestige and status.
- Editor of Al Zaman Yousuf Al Haj: 3 years imprisonment, a fine of 3,000 Omani Rials (approximately $7,800), and a one-year ban from practicing journalism, with a bail amount of 50,000 Omani Rials ($130,000) if opting to stay out of prison during the appeal process (later reduced to 2,000 Omani Rials, approximately $5,200). Al Haj faced six charges, including those mentioned for Al Mamari, plus spreading information about a case subject to a ministerial publication ban and defaming the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
- Journalist Zaher Al Abri: 1 year imprisonment, a fine of 1,000 Omani Rials ($2,600), and a bail amount of 5,000 Omani Rials ($13,000) if opting to stay out of prison during the appeal process. Al Abri was charged with misusing information networks to undermine public order. (Refer to the Appeals Verdict on December 26th.)
- October 5th (Saud Al Zadjali): Writer and academic researcher Saud Al Zadjali was summoned and detained due to his critical religious articles in the online magazine Al Falq, particularly his third article, “Reflections on Religious Fatwas.” He was later released on October 19th. Former opinion detainee and former municipal council member for the Wilayat of Liwa, Saqr Al Balushi, was also summoned, and he was later released in early November.
- October 18th (Hamoud Al Shukaily): The Court of First Instance in Muscat issued a verdict sentencing writer and storyteller Hamoud Al Shukaily to 3 years in prison, a fine of 1,000 Omani Rials ($2,600), and a bail amount of 5,000 Omani Rials ($13,000). Al Shukaily paid the bail amount and appealed the verdict on the same day. January 4th was set as the date for the verdict to be pronounced.
- October 30th (Al Balad Electronic Newspaper): The editor-in-chief of Al Balad electronic newspaper announced through a short article the decision to close the newspaper and its editorial team after 4 years and 5 months since its establishment. The main reason for the closure was not clarified, although the article hinted at “pressures” the newspaper had faced. Al Balad, founded on May 7th, 2012, was the first independent electronic newspaper that provided professional journalistic work different from traditional journalism. The newspaper presented interesting, rich, and diverse journalistic materials, even in the types of articles it published. According to sources, the editor-in-chief of Al Balad, Turki Al Balushi, was summoned by the Internal Security Apparatus (Intelligence) and detained for interrogation for 3 days. After his release, Al Balushi published a statement announcing the closure of the newspaper. The main reason, in addition to other reasons, for Al Balushi’s summons was reportedly the publication of a translated report by Al Balad from Reuters, which indicated that Oman was one of the countries from which weapons were smuggled into Yemen.
- November 8th (Abdullah Habib): The Primary Court in Muscat sentenced writer and film critic Abdullah Habib to 3 years in prison, a fine of 2,000 Omani Rials ($5,200), and a bail of 1,000 Omani Rials ($2,600) in case of appeal. He was charged with contempt of religion, spreading hatred, defamation of the divine essence, and violating Article 19 of the Information Technology Crimes Law related to using information technology to undermine the state system. After several postponements in the Appeals Court sessions, the verdict was scheduled to be pronounced on January 2nd, 2017.
- December 16th (Medical Interns): More than 9 medical interns (recent graduates) staged a protest on Friday, December 16th, 2016, in front of the Ministry of Health, protesting the lack of appointments to the positions they had been working in and the non-receipt of their financial dues since the beginning of their work (for over 5 months). Some medical interns had started a strike in November of the previous year, which lasted for a short period, protesting the absence of any employment decisions or receipt of salaries for their work period. According to a source, the interns would continue their protest this time, and they would also begin a strike from January 15th, 2017, until their demands were met.
- December 26th (Al Zaman Journalists Appeal): The Appeals Court in Muscat ruled in the case of the closure of Al Zaman newspaper and the detention of its editor-in-chief, managing editor, and responsible for local news section, as follows:
- The decision to close Al Zaman newspaper, issued by Omani Minister of Information Abdulmunim Al Hassani on August 9th, was overturned, and the newspaper was allowed to resume its activities two weeks after the appeal decision.
- The imprisonment sentence for Al Zaman editor-in-chief Ibrahim Al Mamari was reduced to 6 months after dropping three (3) charges.
- The imprisonment sentence for Al Zaman managing editor Yousuf Al Haj was reduced to one year after dropping five (5) charges.
- Journalist and responsible for the local news section, Zaher Al Abri, was acquitted.