Two men were arrested for their online activities in Oman, and only one has been freed, say the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and the Omani Association for Human Rights (OAHR), who call for his release and an end to arrests of those who express themselves online peacefully.

On 09 August 2022, businessman and Internet activist Hani Al-Sarhani was arrested after being summoned by the Special Division of the Omani Police Command in the capital, Muscat. The Special Division is the executive arm of the Internal Security Services (ISS).

Al-Sarhani has used his Twitter account to appeal to officials to provide support to business people and citizens alike due to what he referred to as the difficult phase that everyone is going through.

On 05 August 2022, he posted on his YouTube account a recording of him speaking in a meeting that included a number of his fellow businesspeople, and later posted it several times on Twitter as well. His speech included an appeal of distress to Sultan Haitham bin Tariq and all officials on behalf of businessmen, announcing that they have reached a difficult stage amid the deterioration of the purchasing power of citizens. He also said that, “high prices broke everyone’s back” and “taxes reduced spending power.” Al-Sarhani added, “This led to consequences that we did not see in the past for everyone, including businessmen and citizens, who became unable to live a decent life.”

He also criticised the lifting of government support for public services and explained that, “the government’s efforts were not sufficient to manage the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences and recover from it.” He concluded his speech by saying, “The economy is collapsing and exhausted and we are dying.” And “I am looking for my treatment and it is in the hands of the government, and they should listen to us.”

Reliable local sources confirmed his release on 10 August 2022.

In another separate case, on 04 August 2022, prominent environmental activist Dr. Ahmed Issa Qatan was arrested by the ISS.

His Twitter account is pinned with the following tweet: “Oman urgently needs fundamental reforms… through the Shura Council choosing the government and holding it accountable… electing all local councils and taking over the management of the provinces… Removing merchants from the state administration and ending hidden trade… Putting young people in all production jobs … Reducing duties and taxes to stimulate the economy.” He placed it over the portrait of the Sultan of Oman.
Reliable local sources stated that his arrest is related to his peaceful activities on the Internet, including the above tweet.

He was previously arrested on 23 February 2021, due to his relentless efforts to preserve normal life in Dhofar Plain and not to damage its current composition or change the lifestyle in it, which extends for hundreds of years. It will allow the creation of residential complexes in these green spaces. He was released on 03 March 2021.

While GCHR and OAHR welcome the release of businessman and Internet activist Hani Al-Sarhani, they call on the Omani government to release prominent environmental activist Dr. Ahmed Qatan immediately and unconditionally.

GCHR and OAHR also call for an immediate end to the policy of silencing voices and restricting public freedoms, including freedom of peaceful demonstration and freedom of the press. The authorities in Oman must respect public freedoms, including freedom of expression and opinion, both online and offline. The security forces must carry out their duties to protect citizens, not oppress them, as they peacefully demand their civil and human rights.

The International Federation of Journalist (IFJ), based in Belgium, will hold its 31st Congress in Muscat between 31 May and 03 June 2022. The Omani Journalists Association (OJA) will represent Oman in hosting this event.

The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and the Omani Association for Human Rights (OAHR) take this opportunity to call on both IFJ and OJA, to highlight during the four-day event, the extensive human rights violation that are taking place in the country. We hope they will also urge the government of Oman to respect public freedoms, in particular freedom of expression offline and online, freedom of the press, and freedom of peaceful assembly.

In recent years, GCHR and OAHR have documented many violations to freedom of expression including attacks on the press, journalists, other media professionals and Internet activists. They have been summoned, harassed and imprisoned solely for expressing their views about public affairs on social media networks.

In 2016, the country’s only independent newspaper “Azamn” was shut down and its leading journalists Ibrahim Al-Maamari, Yousef Al-Haj and Zaher Al-Abri were imprisoned solely due to their purely journalism work.

In an arbitrary measure that greatly endangers freedom of expression, the Ministry of Information decided on 01 December 2021 to prevent the broadcast of the “All Questions” program, presented by prominent broadcaster Kholoud Al-Alawi on Hala FM Radio.

On 15 March 2022, journalist and human rights defender Mukhtar Al-Hinai was summoned by the Public Prosecution Department in Muscat for an investigation over a tweet. He was subjected afterward to a campaign of judicial harassment, in flagrant violation of his freedom of expression and jeopardising press freedom in Oman.

GCHR and OAHR urge authorities in Oman to:
Protect the freedom of the press in the country as well as freedom of expression offline and on the Internet; and
Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders including journalists, writers and online activists in Oman are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions including judicial harassment.

In an arbitrary measure that greatly endangers freedom of expression, the Ministry of Information decided on 01 December 2021 to prevent the broadcast of the “All Questions” program, presented by the prominent broadcaster, Kholoud Al-Alawi, on Hala FM radio.

The “All Questions” program enjoys a wide following amongst the citizens of Oman due to the important and pertinent topics it raises for the daily lives of Omani citizens.

Local reports confirmed that the Ministry of Information informed the Radio administration of its decision over the phone. As soon as the news of the decision was circulated, the hashtag, #Solidarity _ with _ Kholoud_Al-Alawi, started trending on Omani Twitter.

The decision was issued on the same day that Al-Alawi hosted Shura Council member Dr. Mohammed Al-Zadjali on her program. During an interview with him, he criticized the presidency of the Shura Council and said, “The media outlets handed over their necks to the Ministry of Information.”

Furthermore, the Ministry of Information issued a circular on 23 December 2021, requiring the media to coordinate the hosting of members of the Shura Council with the Ministry. Observers consider this to be yet another restriction on media freedom.

home in Sohar. Reliable local reports confirmed that he is still being held by the North Al-Batinah Governorate Police Command in Sohar, which is the regional centre of the governorate.

Al-Shibli has a Twitter account with more than 7,000 followers, which he uses to peacefully express his views. He also uses the hashtag (#Ghaith_spaces) to organise dialogues on various topics that gained wide popularity in Oman, and which likely led to his arrest. The authorities have not announced the nature of the charges against him, but it is widely believed that they are related to his opinions and those of the participants in his conversations online.

Upon his arrest, a hashtag was launched in Oman on Twitter calling for his release, and a large number of citizens, including bloggers, circulated the call: #Freedom_Ghaith_Shibli

Another hashtag was launched on Twitter calling for the writer Dr. Saud Al-Zadjali to be prosecuted because of his personal opinions published on his Twitter account, where he is followed by more than 25,000 people. On 25 July 2021, he announced in a tweet that he would take legal measures against anyone who distorts his views or threatens him because of them.

Both the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and the Omani Association for Human Rights (OAHR) denounce the arrest of Internet activist Ghaith Al-Shibli, which violates his right to freedom of expression, and call for his immediate release. GCHR and OAHR also call for an end to the targeting of writer Saud Al-Zadjali in violation of his right to freedom of expression.

The Omani government should work to respect public freedoms, in particular freedom of expression, both online and offline.

The Omani authorities have recently released five peaceful protesters after detaining them for several weeks. All of them were charged with participating in a gathering of more than ten people without a permit, and violating the instructions of the higher committee in charge of examining the mechanism for dealing with developments in the spread of Covid-19 related to precautionary measures. A broadcaster who criticised the government’s handling of Covid-19 was also released after almost two weeks in detention.

A number of other separate charges were brought against each individual, including incitement to assembly, closure of the highway, assaulting policemen, and misuse of information technology, but these charges were quickly dropped, and the first two charges were kept.

The protesters are, Abdullah Salem Obaid Al-Badi, 23, who was arrested in late May 2021; Abdullah Salem Abdullah Al-Badi, 30, who was arrested on 28 May 2021; Mohammed Al-Qarini, 23, who was arrested on 30 May 2021; and Nahyan Al-Badi, a young man in the last year of his secondary studies, who was arrested on 30 May 2021. They are all from the province of Saham. The fifth protester is Ali Al-Saadi, 28 years old, from the province of Shinas, who was also arrested on 30 May 2021.

The five men all participated in the recent peaceful protests that started in Sohar on 23 May 2021, and moved from there to other provinces. They are job seekers who called for reform and the eradication of corruption.

They were held in Sohar Central Prison, which is supervised by the Royal Oman Police Command, and were permitted visits.
Abdullah Salem Obaid Al-Badi and Abdullah Salem Abdullah Al-Badi were released after more than two weeks of detention on bail. On 12 June 2021, Nahyan Al-Badi was released on bail, while Mohammed Al-Qarini and Ali Al-Saadi were released on bail on 05 July 2021.

In a separate case, on 03 July 2021, popular broadcaster Nasr Al-Bousaidi was released after being detained since 30 June 2021 for interrogation about tweets in which he criticised the procedures of the higher government committee in charge of examining the mechanism for dealing with developments in the spread of Covid-19. During his detention, the hashtag #Free_Nasr_Al_Bousaidi was trending on Twitter in Oman.

Al-Bousaidi is from the province of Nizwa and resides in the capital, Muscat. He is currently working as a talk show host on Al-Shabiba (Youth) Radio. He is also an Internet activist.

On 25 May 2021, in the midst of the popular protests that swept Oman and as part of his call for the government to implement the ideas of Omani youth, he tweeted on his Twitter account, “In many crises, do not plan who to arrest. Rather, make all your focus towards the solution. Whatever you think, only the solution will end everything.” Al-Bousaidi uses Twitter to follow up on issues of public interest, as well as to defend the rights of the Palestinian people.

While the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and the Omani Association for Human Rights (OAHR) welcome the release of the five peaceful protesters, in addition to broadcaster Nasr Al-Bousaidi, they call on the Omani government to immediately end the policy of silencing and repressing public freedoms, including freedom of peaceful demonstration and freedom of the press. The authorities in Oman must respect public freedoms, including freedom of expression and opinion, both online and offline. The security forces must carry out their duties to protect citizens, not oppress them, as they peacefully demand their civil and human rights.

Popular protests have receded in Oman, after they started in the province of Sohar on 23 May 2021, and spread to the provinces of Salalah, Ibri, Sur, Ibra and Rustaq. The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and the Omani Association for Human Rights (OAHR) have documented violations related to the rights to freedom of assembly and expression.

The protesters, the majority of whom are young, have demanded the government provide job opportunities, improve the living conditions of citizens, carry out reforms and eradicate corruption. A number of Omani women also demanded that they be granted the right to own land. Dozens of protesters were arrested, most of whom were later released after being forced to sign a pledge not to participate in any future demonstrations.

On 26 May 2021, human rights defender Ibrahim Al-Balushi was arrested in front of his home, after returning from work before midnight. He has been held in solitary confinement since his arrest due to his participation in the recent peaceful protests.

Reliable local sources told GCHR and OAHR that Al-Balushi started an open hunger strike after being placed in solitary confinement in a prison belonging to the Special Division of the Omani Police Headquarters in Sohar. The Special Division is the executive arm of the Internal Security Service (ISS). He was later transferred to the Central Prison in Sohar. Reports confirmed that he is still on hunger strike.

Al-Balushi took part in the popular protests of 2011, and he was arrested several times, including being imprisoned for 10 months. He was previously arrested in the United Arab Emirates in May 2014 and then released.

GCHR and OAHR received information confirming that the ISS is putting pressure on him to give a public apology for his request from the protesters who gathered in Sohar on 25 May 2021, chanting the slogan, “The people want to reform the system” which means eliminating corruption, as shown in this video.

On 26 May 2021, protesters in Sohar cut off the main street under the Sohar Bridge by placing a truck transporting vehicles in the middle of it. Police personnel then dispersed them using tear gas canisters, as this video clearly shows. Also, due to their massive gathering, the protesters cut off the traffic over the Sohar Bridge itself.

On 27 May 2021, as part of the popular protests, a group of women staged a sit-in in front of the General Directorate of Housing and Urban Planning in the city of Dhofar. They protested the decisions of the Minister of Housing and Planning that sets unfair conditions on the rights of women to obtain land and they raised several slogans including, “It is my right to have a piece of land in my country”.

Civil society activist Abdulaziz Al-Balushi appeared in a recorded video while delivering a speech to a group of protesters in Sohar on the evening of 26 May 2021, in which he showed signs of torture on his back that he reported date back to the days of his previous arrest and detention after his participation in the protests of 2011. Al-Balushi also asked the protesters to show steadfastness and not to retreat as they are defending their rights. He was arbitrarily arrested the next day, and detained for one day. Many demanded his release through the following hashtag spread on Twitter: #Freedom_To_Abdulaziz_AlBalushi

On 26 May 2021, civil society activist Alwi Al-Mashour published a tweet, in which he responded to what he described as the Oman News Agency’s defamation of the image of the demonstrators, in which he said, “It is clear by God … now the media remember to report the news of the demonstrators after it used to ignore them .. Now distorting their image is used to give the green light to break up the demonstrations and turn simple, oppressed and crushed youth in this life into saboteurs and criminals … I swear by God, they are more keen on the homeland than you …. #No_for the intruders.”

Also, Al-Mashour appeared on the same day in a video spread on social media, in which he defended the protesters and called on the government not to use violence against them, and to start a dialogue with them.

Al-Mashour, who resides in Muscat, was subjected to a major smear campaign, and as a result, a solidarity campaign was launched with him on Twitter with the hashtag:

Alawi_AlMashour_Represents-Me

Reliable press reports confirmed that the Special Division of the Omani Police Command in Muscat summoned him on 27 May 2021, detained him for several hours before releasing him.

On the night of 28 May 2021, the security forces arrested all young protesters in the city of Salalah and then released them after several hours of detention. Also, on the same day, the security forces released all detained protesters in the city of Dhofar.

Reports received by GCHR and OAHR confirmed that the ISS forced the detained protesters to sign pledges that violate their rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful protest in exchange for their release.

Following the popular protests, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq issued directives to implement a plan to create more than 32,000 job opportunities during this year, including 12,000 job opportunities in the civil service and military.

Once again, GCHR and OAHR declare their absolute solidarity with the Omani citizens who exercised their right to demonstrate and peacefully assemble in order to demand improvement in their living conditions. By forcing them to sign undertakings not to protest, the security forces have violated the civil and human rights guaranteed by the Omani constitution for all citizens.

The Omani government must release human rights defender Ibrahim Al-Balushi and all other detainees who are peaceful protesters, and it must also work to immediately end the policy of silencing and restricting public freedoms, including the freedom to demonstrate peacefully and freedom of the press. The authorities in Oman must respect public freedoms, including freedom of expression and opinion, on and off the Internet. The security forces must fulfill their duties to protect citizens, not to oppress them, while they peacefully demand their civil and human rights.


In February 2021, the company’s activities returned to their normal state, but they did not re-instate all the workers except a small number of them, leaving 405 of them still without work. Therefore, they peacefully gathered together demanding to return to work and continued to gather daily for four consecutive days. Some of them lay down on the ground and did not leave the gathering place despite the hot weather and the advent of the holy month of Ramadan.

The company made a promise to pay them another year’s salaries, so a large number of them left the site on the evening of 14 April 2021, but 50 workers remained who refused the offer.

On the morning of 15 April 2021, a number of military vehicles comprising dozens of Royal Guard members left the Royal Palace, and set up barriers in the square opposite the Palace in their quest to end the peaceful gathering and intimidate the participants, who left after noticing the Royal Guard’s advance outside the Palace.

The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and the Omani Association for Human Rights (OAHR) declare their full solidarity with the dismissed workers who have not been returned to work, while strongly condemning the Royal Guard’s intimidation and suppression of the peaceful protest.

The Omani government should immediately end the policy of silencing and restricting other opinions, and targeting human rights defenders, including Internet activists. The authorities in Oman must respect public freedoms, including freedom of expression and opinion, on and off the Internet, in addition to the right of freedom of peaceful assembly.

On the evening of 03 June 2020, Internet activist Awad Al-Sawafi (photo on the left) appeared before the Special Division of the Omani Police Command in the city of Ibri after he was summoned earlier that day. He was immediately arrested and transferred to the Public Prosecution office on charges of “incitement” and “misuse of social media.” The Special Division is the executive arm of the Internal Security Service (ISS) in Oman.

Ibri, which is a city in Al-Dhahirah Governorate, is located in the west of Oman, and is 279 km away from the capital, Muscat. He was detained at Al-Dhank police station in Al-Dhahirah Governorate.

Al-Sawafi’s detention is linked to a tweet he posted on his Twitter account in which he criticised government agencies that threaten citizens. He started by saying, “Every week a government institution comes to us that threatens this nation, which is overpowered.” He concluded by saying, “Let everyone know without exception, either we live with dignity on this land or not.” His tweet enjoyed wide interactions and support on social media.

On 09 June 2020, the Ibri Court of First Instance held its first session in Al-Sawafi’s trial, when it released him on bail pending the pronouncement of the verdict at the next hearing on 16 June 2020.

Al-Sawafi is a well-known activist and blogger who uses his Twitter account to express his personal views on various public affairs, to support women’s rights to participate in developing the country, and to reject racism. He had previously been sentenced in 2012 to one year in prison in a case of defamation against the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

In another case, on 10 June 2020, the Court of First Instance in Muscat sentenced broadcaster Adel Al-Kasbi (photo in the centre) and former Shura Council member Salem Al-Awfi (photo on the right) to one-year in prison each, after they were convicted on a charge of “using information technology to spread harm to public order.” This charge is related to their peaceful activities on the Internet. They have paid 2000 Omani Rials ($5200 USD) bail to remain free pending their hearing at the Appeal Court.

Al-Kasbi was arrested on 25 February 20202 after posting on his Twitter account the following: “I dreamed that I had become a minister and built a palace in Crimea but it was very, very expensive. The structure only cost me 13 million Omani Rials.” Al-Kasbi is a television and radio presenter, and his account is used to express his views on public affairs and the fight against corruption in the country. Four others who retweeted his tweet, including Salem Al-Awfi, were also arrested. Al-Kasbi was released on bail on 26 February 2020 while Al-Awfi spent a month in detention.

Al-Awfi was arrested for the retweet as well as several other tweets he had posted on his Twitter account, which he boldly uses to express his opinions, criticise tyranny, the lack of proper planning and to promote justice. On 07 July 2019, he published a tweet about his exclusion from being nominated for membership to the Shura Council for the state of Azkali, and on 11 February 2020, he published a tweet saying, “They practice tyranny and criticise it by words so they are far from justice.”

The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and the Omani Association for Human Rights (OAHR) call on the authorities in Oman in particular the notorious ISS to immediately halt their systematic campaign aimed at denying public freedoms to writers and other citizens, including freedom of the press, freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, and freedom of peaceful assembly. The authorities must fulfill their obligations to provide and protect civil space and not to harass human rights defenders, including writers, journalists and Internet activists.

The authorities in Oman must end the prosecution of Internet activists Awad Al-Sawafi, Adel Al-Kasbi and Salem Al-Awfi and revoke all charges or sentences issued against them.