Case History: Ahmed Al-Blushi
On 4 August 2015 human rights defenders Mr Mukhtar Al-Hanai and Mr Ahmed Al-Blushi were arrested by security forces. Their arrest followed that of Mr Salih Al-Azri, Mr Ali Al-Muqbali and Mr Talib Al-Saedi one day earlier.
On 24 August 2015 the Internal Security Service released human rights defenders Mr Muktar Al-Hanai, Mr Salih Al-Azri, Mr Ali Al-Muqbali and Mr Talib Al-Saedi without charges.
Ahmed Al-Blushi was arrested on 4 August 2015 while travelling to the United Arab Emirates, and was released a number of hours after the arrest.
On 24 August 2015 the Internal Security Service released human rights defenders Mr Muktar Al-Hanai, Mr Salih Al-Azri, Mr Ali Al-Muqbali and Mr Talib Al-Saedi without charges.
The Special Division of the Internal Security Service held all three human rights defenders in incommunicado detention in the Al-Qurum area of Muscat for 20 and 21 days. An amendment enacted in 2011 permits pretrial detention by security forces of up to 30 days without charge.
On 4 August 2015 human rights defenders Mr Mukhtar Al-Hanai and Mr Ahmed Al-Blushi were arrested by security forces. Their arrest followed that of Mr Salih Al-Azri, Mr Ali Al-Muqbali and Mr Talib Al-Saedi one day earlier.
Mukhtar Al-Hanai and Ahmed Al-Blushi were arrested on 4 August 2015 while travelling to the United Arab Emirates. Ahmed Al-Blushi was released a number of hours after the arrest, while Mukhtar Al-Hinai remains in detention. Mukhtar Al-Hanai was previously arrested in June 2012 due to his participation in a peaceful protest calling for the release of human rights defenders from prison. In September 2012 he was sentenced to one year imprisonment and a fine on charges of insulting the Sultan through “offensive writings and violating the information technology law.” He was released in 2013 following a pardon from Sultan Qaboos.
An amendment enacted in 2011 permits pretrial detention by security forces of up to 30 days without charge. Human rights defenders and internet activists in Oman have been subjected to systematic targeting. The Cyber Crime Law introduced in 2011 has been used to criminalise the use of the internet to “produce or publish or distribute or purchase or possess whatsoever that might violate the public ethics” or “prejudice the public order or religious values.” Royal Decree no. 96/2011 introduced amendments to the Penal Code and the Penal Procedure Law to criminalise “publishing false news, statements or rumours liable to incite the public or undermine the prestige of the state or weaken trust in its financial state.”
