Oman: Journalists Jailed for Exposing Corruption

Editor Ibrahim al-Maamary and Managing Editor Yussuf al-Haj of the Omani newspaper Azzaman were sentenced to five months in jail on charges of insulting Justice Minister Mohamed al-Hanai and an undersecretary of state. Al-Maamary and al-Haj were charged with accusing al-Hanai and the undersecretary of “fraud, deception and prevarications” in an article that sought to expose corruption, including embezzlement, within the justice ministry. Azzaman has also been ordered to close for one month. In addition to al-Haj and al-Maamary, an employee of the justice ministry Haron Saeed faces five months in prison on charges of “telling the journalists that a ministry employee had been denied his salary and benefits by the justice minister without valid cause.”

The defense lawyer in al-Maamary and al-Haj’s cases said he will appeal the verdicts, including the order to close the newspaper, on October 15. Reporters Without Borders wrote a letter to Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said on August 11 stating “It would be regrettable if the Omani courts upheld this decision, which would violate freedom of the press and would give credence to the journalist’s allegedly defamatory claims.”