ADHRB at HRC: Continued Concern for Human Rights in Oman’s UPR Outcome

On March 17, 2016, at the 31st session of the Human Rights Council, ADHRB’s International Advocacy Officer, Michael Payne delivered an oral intervention on behalf of ADHRB during Item 6’s UPR outcomes on Oman, in which he expressed the organization’s continued concern for the human rights situation in Oman. Please continue reading for his full[…]

Oman Increases its Restriction on Freedom of Expression

Oman jailed two social media users this month for posts they made on Facebook and Twitter. First, an Omani court sentenced Hassan al-Basham, a former diplomat, to three months in prison on charges of “insulting God and the country’s leader,” Sultan Qaboos bin Said al-Said. The charges are related to a series of posts on[…]

Arrests for Free Expression in the UAE and Oman

A UAE court has once again postponed the trial of Omani blogger Muawiya al-Rawahi on Sunday. A writer and human rights defender, al-Rawahi has been accused of insulting the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohamed bin Zayed. UAE authorities originally arrested al-Rawahi at the border with Oman almost a year ago, preventing him from returning[…]

Oman Passes a Law Forbidding More African Domestic Workers

The Sultanate of Oman will no longer be issuing work visas for domestic workers from the five African countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, Cameroon, and Guinea. A senior official from the Royal Oman Police explained that the government implemented the official ban yesterday, on 1 February 2016, but had already been in the process of[…]