Oman

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15. Oman GENERAL, POLITICAL AND LEGAL OVERVIEW Oman has continued to restrict basic freedoms and human rights with violations increasing significantly since 2011, the start of the widespread demand for political reform and democratic change across the Middle East. As calls for more freedoms and open participation in the political process intensified in Oman, authorities detained and harassed critics and pro-reform activists. They have also withheld security clearance for involvement in peaceful political activities, preventing many citizens from gaining employment in state services. The year 2014 was marked by an increase in the number of government officials prosecuted on corruption charges. Mohammed alKhusaibi, Omani commerce minister has been sentenced to three years in prison for corruption and fined $2m (£1.2m).131 A number of amendments and new laws were announced in 2014, imposing harsher restrictions on basic freedoms and human rights. Experts have warned that such changes, such as the new 131 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middleeast-27469354

Nationality Law, breach International Law. Oman is due to appear before the Human Rights Council Periodic Review (UPR) to respond to questions about its compliance with the recommendations made by the UPR in 2011.132 The Sultanate of Oman acceded to, and ratified, a number of human rights decrees related to women and children.

In 1996, the Government of Oman ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), followed in 2004 by accession to the two optional protocols to the convention: the involvement of children in armed conflict and the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

Oman acceded to Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women CEDAW in 2006. Early in 2009, Oman ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Oman has not ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance or the UN Convention Against Torture, included in the UPR 2011 recommendations.

Oman’s Basic Law guarantees freedom of expression, but restricts this right based on the “conditions and circumstances defined by the Law”. It prohibits any publication that “leads to 132 http://gihr-ar.org/ar/index.php?option=com_ content&view=article&id=538%3A---166--&catid=34%3Aun&Itemid=93 [GIHR : Universal Periodic Review (UPR): 166 recommandations for Sultanate of Oman (Arabic Source)]

117 public discord, violates the security of the State or abuses a person’s dignity and his rights” (Article 31). Authorising blanket prohibitions on these vague grounds goes beyond the restrictions on freedom of expression permitted under International Law. Penal Code Article 126 prohibits publicly insulting or defaming the “Sultan’s rights or authority” and imposes a penalty of up to three years imprisonment and a fine of up to 500 Riyals (US $1,300).

Article 173 bans anything that affronts a public official performing their duties “publicly or by publication, and by speech or gestures”. Violators risk up to six months imprisonment.

The Omani Penal Code criminalises any criticism of the Sultan or the Government and imposes a penalty of up to three years imprisonment and a fine. Authorities invoke these laws as the legal basis for arresting human rights workers, political activists and anyone who criticises the Sultan or the Government. Criminal Procedure Law was amended allowing for detainees to be held indefinitely. The amendments are designed to restrict the activities of civil society institutions and political activists.

Omani authorities invoke the vague charge of “undermining the prestige of the state” to arrest and convict political opponents. Parties and civil societies are still banned in the country while the few allowed to operate are subjected to close scrutiny. Peaceful assemblies are repressed and anyone accused

of attending a political gathering is charged with “illegal assembly”.

Oman’s Press and Publications Law, Telecommunications Act of 2002, and Cyber Crimes Law also restrict both print and electronic publishing and online content. Article 61 of the Telecommunications Act penalises “any person who sends, by means of telecommunications system, a message that violates public order or public morals” with up to one year imprisonment and a fine.

Oman exerts some efforts to observe human rights by ratifying UN agreements and conventions, but these efforts remain inadequate. The National Human Rights Commission, a government-funded and appointed commission composed of private- and public sector members, is the only officially recognised human rights body in Oman.133 However, the Commission is not authorised to review complaints of human rights violations or take any steps to prosecute those who commit these violations.

The recent amendments to the Omani Nationality Law allow the Government to revoke the citizenship of anyone who deals with international organisations.

The amendments published in the Official Gazette in August 2014 list the revocation of citizenship as punishment for expressing “harmful opinions” and/or those convicted in state security cases.

133 http://www.nhrc.om/en/about-us/

118 Revoking citizenships also includes those who refuse to comply with government orders to stop working for a foreign entity or enemy. These are the same laws that allowed the governments of the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait to revoke the citizenship of many political activists.134

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS The right to freedom, fair trial and treatment •

Torture and arbitrary arrests

Human rights organisations have documented many cases of arbitrary detention over the past 3 years. These arrests have continued into 2014, focusing on political activists and human rights defenders. There have also been a number of reports on instances of torture and other forms of physical abuse by security officers, including physical assaults, forcing detainees to wear hoods and masks, false executions, sleep deprivation and solitary confinement.

Cases include the following: 1. On 23rd January 2014, Omani security forces arrested Musallam al-Katheeri, a retired physician, over comments he posted about corrupt government officials and his objection to the arrest of the MP, Talib Al Maamari.

134 http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/ activists-warn-1061946039

Al-Katheeri was held in a secret location and released a few days later without charge.135 2. On 6th May, Ibrahim Abdullah Juma al-Balushi, Nasser al-Ehyai, Said alZeidi and Talal Mohammed al-Maamari were arbitrarily arrested and detained until their release on 12th July. They are not believed to have been tortured, but their conditions of detention were cruel, inhumane and degrading. When al-Balushi’s and al-Maamari’s relatives went to the police station in Muscat on 12th and 14th May, they were denied visiting access to the two detained men and were not given details regarding the reasons for their arrest.136 The four men were released without charge on the condition that they sign a pledge agreeing not to “partake in advocacy work” or “incite sectarianism”, among other commitments. Al-Balushi and al-Maamari were previously arrested in 2011 and sentenced to 3 years imprisonment by the State Security Court for “inciting sectarian hatred”.

The Sultan released them 10 months into their sentences as part of a general pardon.137 3. On 27th December 2013, Omani security forces arrested the 19-year old Yemeni citizen Abdulrahman 135 http://www.alaan.cc/pagedetails. asp?nid=216628&cid=46 [Alaan: Human rights violations in the Sultanate of Oman (Arabic Source)] 136 https://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/ uaa12714.pdf 137 https://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/ uaa12714.pdf

119 Ali Salem Mohammed, at a checkpoint on the road connecting Yemen, Oman and the UAE. Abdulrahman was travelling to Duba with another Yemeni citizen, Khalid al-Yafai’. Both were taken to an unknown location and were not allowed to contact their families. Authorities refused to give them a reason for their arrest. Khalid was released 4 months later while Abdulrahman remained in custody.

On 30th June 2014 Abdulrahman was extradited to Yemen, 193 days after his arrest. He complained of torture and abuse at three different Omani prisons. On 6th September 2014, he was released without charge.

4. On 9th October, Omani authorities arrested the Omani national Mohammed al-Battashi, otherwise known as al-Muntaqim Bilallah alBattashi. Al-Battashi was abducted by a Special Forces unit and taken to an unknown location. He was placed in solitary confinement and denied the right to see his family or lawyer. He was released on 11th November. According to al-Battashi, the police accused him of “insulting the Sultan.”

The right to freedoms of the press and expression •

Expression, assembly and association

Oman practices a systematic repression of all forms of peaceful expression. There is a deep concern among human rights activists about

the consequences of restricting freedoms of expression and legislations related thereto, such as the Penal Code, law of Penal Procedures and the Right to Information. During the past few years, there has been a gradual increase in the restrictions on the freedom of expression and in the use of unnecessary and excessive force by authorities against peaceful demonstrators.

Many activists have been arrested for “illegal assembly”, “insulting the prestige of the State or the Sultan” and have been tried in courts that fail to meet international requirements for fair trial.

This prompted the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association to highlight, following a visit to Oman in September 2010: “…the distinct impression of a pervasive culture of silence and fear affecting anyone who wants to speak and work for reforms in Oman. They are afraid to speak their minds, afraid to speak on the telephone, afraid to meet. Ubiquitous communications technologies that the rest of the world takes for granted, such as Skype, are unavailable in Oman, something that my team and I bear witness to. Many people we spoke to reported being arrested or detained without due process – some repeatedly – and subjected to intimidation and psychological torture simply for trying to assert their rights. I would like to underline, that all the people I spoke

120 to who have been subjected to this harassment, stress that what they want is peaceful reform, not revolution.”138 Authorities have arrested scores of activists and human rights defenders prompting human rights organisations to warn the Omani Government against breaching basic freedoms of expression and assembly. The Sultan has since pardoned most of the activists. Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists remarked that the arrest of journalists has been aimed at silencing the voices of dissent and criticism and deterring others from expressing their opinions freely.

Cases of restriction of expression, assembly and association include the following: 1. On 13th July 2014, authorities arrested Noah al-Saadi, a blogger and human rights activist, detaining him until 7th August when he was released without charge. Officials had previously detained al-Saadi in September 2013 after he used his blog to criticise the arrest of Dr Talib Al Maamari, a Shura Council Member involved in antipollution protests at Sohar Port and the 2011 mass protests in Sohar by Omanis demanding jobs and an end to official corruption.139 2. On 24th August 2013, 42-year old MP Talib Al Maamari, was arrested and 138 http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/ DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=15028& 139 http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/countrychapters/oman

unfairly tried after organising an antipollution protest against poisonous gases emitted by a petrochemical plant in Sohar. In the course of the demonstrations, which were held on 21st August 2013, members of the security forces fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse the crowd.

Al-Maamari was among those injured by the violent police intervention and was arrested with a total disregard for his parliamentary immunity. AlMaamari was convicted of inciting unrest by “inciting the people of Liwa to demonstrate in front of Sohar Industrial Port” and “intentionally spreading tendentious news that could impair the honour of the country”.

The court sentenced him to 4 years imprisonment and ordered him to pay a fine. On 16th October 2014, the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) expressed its concern over serious allegations that al-Maamari was prosecuted and convicted on the basis of charges which may have infringed his legitimate right to freedom of assembly. The IPU welcomed an invitation extended by the Omani delegation to visit Oman and underscored that it is of primary importance that the delegation also meets with al-Maamari himself.140 On 16th December, two months after the decision issued by the IPU’s Committee, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) issued a similar opinion, highlighting that Article 137 of the Omani Criminal Code, “harming the 140 http://www.ipu.org/english/issues/hrdocs/195/ om01.htm

121 State’s prestige”, allowed too broad an interpretation, which could also result in a violation of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association as guaranteed by Articles 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The decision read that “it is on the basis of this law that, following the protest, many protesters were arrested for having exercised their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The Government does not deny that Liwa’s population claimed only their right to live in a healthy environment.” WGAD’s opinion stated that al-Maamari’s arrest and detention was arbitrary and consequently that he should be released. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), al-Maamari has been refused bail.

3. Saqer al-Balushi, a former municipal councilor from Liwa, was sentenced to one year imprisonment and a fine of 300 Riyals ($750) for attending an “illegal gathering” in connection with the aforementioned incident. The court acquitted seven other defendants and released alBalushi on bail pending appeal.

4. On 10 December 2014, security forces arrested Said al-Jaddad, a human rights activist and pro-reform blogger.

According to HRW, al-Jaddad was arrested in the southern city of Salalah without an arrest warrant. Al-Jaddad had repeatedly called for political and social reforms on Facebook and on his blog. Sources reported that the officers involved impounded al-Jaddad’s car

and cell phone and transferred him to an unknown location. At 11:00pm, security officers raided al-Jaddad’s home and took away some of his personal belongings.

On December 16th, al-Jaddad’s family visited the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Dhofar to seek information regarding his arrest. They were turned away empty handed. There was great concern for al-Jaddad’s wellbeing as he has a heart condition, high-blood pressure and digestive problems.

He was released, but on 21st January 2015, a large group of riot police raided al-Jaddad’s house in Salalah.

They arrested him again using brutal and unnecessary force, terrifying his children aged 6 and 10 years. Prior to his arrest, al-Jaddad had warned that if he were to be re-arrested he would go on hunger strike and refuse to take medication until his release. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Michel Forst, pointed out that “Mr Jaddad’s recurring detention is unacceptable as it seems to be an act of reprisal for cooperating with international organisations, such as the UN and its human rights mechanisms.” Mads Andenas, the chair of WGAD, commented “I am concerned that Mr Jaddad is being arbitrarily deprived of his liberty for having exercised his rights to freedom of opinion and expression and freedom of association, as guaranteed

by Articles 20 and 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”. The

122 Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, expressed concern over reports of increasingly severe control of civil society in the country by Omani security and intelligence services, and the impact that these restrictions have on the enjoyment of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Mr Kaye said: “We steadfastly condemn the detention of individuals who seek to contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights and we call for Mr Jaddad’s immediate release”.

5. On 4th September 2014, authorities released Mohammed al-Farazi, a prominent blogger and editor-in-chief of Mowatin Magazine, after keeping him incommunicado for five days with no knowledge of the reasons behind his arrest. Al-Farazi established Mowatin Magazine as an online news source to debate a range of political, social and legal issues. He has also been a fierce defender of civil and political rights in Oman. Al-Farazi was kept in solitary confinement and denied contact with his wife or lawyer.

Relevant UN agencies received pleas urging for their intervention to secure his release based on the glaring breach of Article 18 of Oman’s Basic Law, which stipulates “personal freedom is guaranteed according to the Law, and it is unlawful to arrest, search, detain, or imprison any person or have his place of residence or freedom of movement or residence restricted except in accordance with the provisions of the Law”. Similarly

to many other countries in the region, Oman broadened the scope of “state security crimes” to include any form of political opposition or criticism of the Government. 141 6. Government crackdown has not been limited to political activists.

Ahmed al-Bahri, a teacher, was sentenced to one year imprisonment and a fine for his part in organising a teachers’ strike at the beginning of the school year in October 2013, despite pledges from authorities not to prosecute any of the strikers. 142 7. On 29th August 2014, Omani intelligence services inexplicably closed down the Elixir Cultural Salon, a book club and forum for public debates on current events and sensitive issues run by a group of young men and women in Sohar. The move echoes a similar crackdown on other cultural salons and lectures organised throughout the country.143

141 http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/09/08/omanstop-targeting-rights-critic 142 http://www.alaan.cc/pagedetails. asp?nid=216628&cid=46 [Alaan: Human rights violations in the Sultanate of Oman (Arabic Source)] 143 Ibid