URGENT ACTION
A
further six activists were sentenced by a court in the Omani capital, Muscat, on 9 September on
charges related to the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of
expression. If imprisoned, they will be prisoners of conscience.
Five activists – Ismail al-Muqbali, Ali
al-Hajji, Mahmoud al-Jamoudi, Hassan al-Ruqaishi and Nabhan
al-Hanashi – were sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment and each fined 1,000 Omani rials (approximately US$2,600) for
insulting the Sultan, undermining the status of
the state, and using the internet to publish defamatory materials. A sixth man,
Ishaq al-Aghbari,
was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 1,000
Omani rials for insulting the
Sultan and using the internet to publish defamatory materials.
They had posted material on the internet
commenting on recent developments in Oman, including criticism of
actions taken by the authorities resulting in the repression of freedom of
expression. All six have been released on bail pending appeals.
At least another three men – Khaled
al-Noufali, Sultan al-Sa’adi and Hatim al-Maliki – are
expected to be sentenced on 16 September.
Trials began after numerous writers,
activists and bloggers were arrested in late May and early June. So far at
least 35 people have been sentenced or are standing trial in relation to the
peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and assembly.
Please write immediately in Arabic, English
or your own language:
n
Calling on the
authorities of Oman to release, immediately and unconditionally, all detainees
held solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and
assembly, as Amnesty International considers them to be prisoners of conscience;
n
Calling on them to
drop all charges, and quash all convictions, related solely to the peaceful
exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and assembly.
PLEASE SEND
APPEALS BEFORE 23 OCTOBER 2012 TO:
Head of State and Prime Minister
His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Sa’id Al Said
Diwan of the Royal Court
The Palace, Muscat
113
Sultanate of Oman
Fax: +968 24 735 375
Salutation: Your Majesty
Minister
of the Interior
His Excellency Hamoud bin Faisal bin Said Al Busaidi
Minister of the Interior
Ministry of Interior
PO Box 127, Ruwi 112, Muscat
Sultanate of Oman
Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to:
Chairman
Mr Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Riyami
National Human Rights Commission
P.O. Box 29, Postal Code:
103
Bareq A' Shati
Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
Fax: +968 24 648 801
Email: enquiry@nhrc.om
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your
country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above
date. This is the third update of UA 174/12. Further information: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/mde20/001/2012 http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/mde20/002/2012
and http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/mde20/003/2012
URGENT
ACTION
more activists face prison in oman
ADditional Information
Protests in Oman
in January and February 2011, sparked by popular unrest across the Middle East
and North Africa, led to a number of
government measures. In response to protesters’ demands, on 27 February 2011, Oman’s
head of state, Sultan Qaboos, ordered the creation of 50,000 jobs and 150 Omani
riyals a month (about US$390) in benefits for the unemployed. On 7 March,
Sultan Qaboos reshuffled and restructured the cabinet, sacking a number of
ministers.
However, the Omani authorities have continued to maintain strict
restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly and protests against the
authorities have continued intermittently since March 2011. Protesters have
voiced the need for greater freedom of the press and for certain current and
former ministers to be held to account for offences they are alleged to have
committed while in office. Scores of protesters were arrested and many brought
to trial in 2011, while at least one man reportedly died when police forcibly
dispersed protesters in the town of Sohar, north
of Oman.
The most recent arrests
began on 31 May 2012 when three activists were arrested when they tried to
travel to Fohoud oil field (about 250km south-west of Muscat), to document an oil workers’ strike
that had started a week earlier. The three – lawyer Yaqoub al-Kharousi and activists Habeeba al-Hina’i and Ismail
al-Muqbali from the newly formed Omani Group for Human Rights – were
reportedly charged for inciting a protest. Habeeba al-Hina’i and Yaqoub
al-Kharousi were released on bail on 4 June. Ismail al-Muqbali was recently
released on bail following his sentencing on 9 September on a different set of
charges (mentioned above).
Following this, further arrests
took place of writers and activists in early June. Shortly after the arrests, the
Public Prosecution issued a number of statements, one of them on 4 June saying legal action would be taken against anyone who published
“offensive writing” in the media or online that was deemed to be “inciting”
others to action “under the pretext of freedom of expression”.
Several of the activists arrested in the recent crackdown were
previously arrested in 2011. For instance, lawyer Basma al-Kiyumi, who was detained on 11 June 2012 and sentenced on
8 August, had been previously arrested on 14 May 2011 during a peaceful protest
in front of the Shura Council in Muscat, along
with 14 others, and was released on bail two days later after being charged
with participating in an unlawful gathering.
The rights to freedom of expression and assembly are guaranteed under
international human rights law and standards. Where restrictions are imposed
they must be for certain specific purposes, which include the rights and
reputation of others, and must be demonstrably necessary and proportionate and
must not put in jeopardy the right itself. Public figures of authority should
tolerate a greater degree of criticism, not less, than people generally, and
accordingly, criminal or other laws which provide special protection against
criticism for public officials are not consistent with respect for freedom of
expression.
See for more information Omani activists sentenced as crackdown on
free speech continues (17 July 2012) at http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/omani-activists-sentenced-crackdown-free-speech-continues-2012-07-17
and Oman: Intolerance of dissent mounts as a dozen more activists sentenced
(8 August 2012) at http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/oman-intolerance-dissent-mounts-dozen-more-activists-sentenced-2012-08-08
Name: Ismail
al-Muqbali (m), Ali al-Hajji (m), Mahmoud al-Jamoudi (m), Hassan al-Ruqaishi
(m), Nabhan al-Hanashi (m), Ishaq al-Aghbari (m), Khaled al-Noufali (m), Sultan
al-Sa’adi (m), Hatim al-Maliki (m), Yaqoub al-Kharousi (m), Habeeba al-Hina’I
(f), and Basma al-Kiyumi (f).
Gender m/f:
Both
Further
information on UA: 174/12 Index: MDE 20/004/2012 Issue Date: 12 September 2012
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق