Omani Activists Sentenced to Prison

Photo Credit: Reuters

An Omani court sentenced four human rights activists to jail terms between six months and a year on Monday for defaming Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed, the Arab world’s longest-serving head of state. Around 30 activists were arrested in the wake of recent protests, 11 of whom are still awaiting sentences. Hammoud Rashedi, an Omani author, was given six months in jail for holding up a sign with “certain sentences directed at Sultan Qaboos.” Poet Hamad al-Kharusi, along with Ali al-Muqbali  and Mahmoud al-Rawahi, was sentenced to a year for defamation and violating the country’s information technology law. Front Line Defenders condemned the judgments against the activists who it described as being “motivated by their peaceful and legitimate human rights work, in particular their call for the respect of the rights to freedom of expression and assembly.”