ORDER, DISSENT, AND THE INTERNET

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 001132 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARPI AND DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/18/2015 TAGS: PHUM PREL SOCI PINR PGOV MU SUBJECT: ORDER, DISSENT, AND THE INTERNET REF: A. MUSCAT 1109 ¶B. MUSCAT 716 ¶C. 04 MUSCAT 2180 Classified By: Ambassador Richard L. Baltimore III. Reason: 1.4 (d). -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) The Omani authorities have incarcerated an outspoken former parliamentarian and questioned a banned writer/activist for making critical remarks about senior government officials. On the heels of pardoning 31 Ibadhis who were convicted of belonging to an illegal organization, the authorities remain seized with ascertaining the appropriate balance between public order, dissent and new means of disseminating information. End Summary. -------------- Al-Ma'wali's Internet and Phone Monitored -------------- ¶2. (U) Taybah Mohammed Rashid al-Ma'wali is one of Oman's first elected female Shura Council deputies and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee who advocates equality and justice. On July 13, a Muscat sentenced her to one and a half years in jail for insulting a public official and using a mobile phone to send allegedly slanderous and libelous text messages (ref A). ¶3. (SBU) Al-Ma'wali's troubles started in late December 2004 when she spoke out against government officials involved in the arrest of thirty-one Ibadhis, then charged with membership in a secret organization that sought to overthrow the government (ref B). In the course of that investigation, the Internal Security Services (ISS) determined that al-Ma'wali disrupted the public order when she disseminated allegedly false information about the ongoing investigation. The Public Prosecution gave the ISS permission (renewed monthly) to monitor all of al-Ma'wali's communications, including her mobile phone, home phone, and internet usage. The ISS then shared the potentially incriminating monitoring information with the Attorney General, as required by law. ¶4. (SBU) According to official court records, ISS monitored al-Ma'wali's communications for five months. In late May 2004, ISS questioned al-Ma'wali about her activities and/or knowledge of the arrested Ibadhis. She was also asked about fellow activist and outspoken government critic Abdullah al-Riyami. Interrogation records indicate that the ISS had been keeping a close eye on the pair, even aware that they were standing next to each other during a protest march following the sentencing of the Ibadhis on May 2 (ref B). ISS asked al-Ma'wali to sign a confession that she made negative statements about senior officials. Al-Ma'wali told us that the ISS threatened her with further legal action after she refused and that her residence and movements have been under constant surveillance at least since that time. ¶5. (SBU) In late June, the Muscat Primary Court summoned al-Ma'wali after the Public Prosecutor decided to charge her with violating Article 61 of the Telecommunications Regulation Act, and Article 173 of the Penal Law. Article 173 prohibits insulting a public official and carries a sentence of 10 days to 6 months in prison. The office of Public Prosecution argued that she insulted the Minister of the Royal Office, the Minister of Information, and the Inspector General of the Royal Oman Police in Internet communications. Al-Ma'wali was also charged with violating Article 61 of the Telecommunications Regulation Act for sending slanderous and libelous text messages on a mobile phone, which carries a sentence of one year in jail and a RO 1000 ($2600) fine for each charge. -------------- Fair Trial? -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Al-Ma'wali's summons was followed by a three-day trial and sentencing on July 13. Al-Ma'wali asserted that her trial was a farce, alleging that her attorney was only allowed 30 minutes in the judge's chamber to review the case prior to the trial's start, that the prosecutor spent a considerable portion of the trial whispering with the judge, and that her own attorney was not afforded opportunity for rebuttal. She also asserted that the judge is the uncle of the Minister of Information, one of the primary complainants in the case. ¶7. (SBU) After three brief court hearings that ended on July 13, al-Ma'wali was found guilty and sentenced to one and a half years in prison. Due to the fact that the Primary Court found the Public Prosecutor's evidence admissible, which included signed confessions, mobile phone text messages, internet postings, and phone calls, it will probably be difficult for her to win on appeal. Nevertheless, the Sultan always has the option of granting a pardon. -------------- Second Activist Detained -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The public is also following the recent detention of well-known writer and human rights activist Abdullah al-Riyami, who has reportedly been barred from publishing anything in Oman since July 2004 (ref C). According to his brother and numerous Internet sites, the police detained Al-Riyami on July 12. A frequent voice of dissent both in the regional media and on the Omani internet message board "al-Sablah," al-Riyami has been closely monitored since his controversial appearance on Iran's Arabic-language satellite channel Al-Alam in July 2004, when he questioned the Omani government's willingness to begin genuine democratic reform and referred to Majlis al-Shura elections as "a mere superficial exercise" to improve the government's image abroad. Speculation as to why the police summoned him points to his criticism of the government and possible participation at a recent human rights forum in Morocco. ¶9. (U) In a press release on July 15, Amnesty International (AI) condemned both arrests, saying al-Ma'wali and al-Riyami "may both be prisoners of conscience, held solely for the non-violent expression of their beliefs." AI called on individuals to appeal to the Sultan for their immediate release, if indeed they are prisoners of conscience. AI is also asking for details of any recognizable criminal charges against al-Riyami and al-Ma'wali together with the details of legal proceedings against them, including the dates of trial hearings and the name of the court before which they have appeared. According to "al-Sablah," 33 international organizations, including the Paris-based Arab Commission on Human Rights and Reporters Without Borders, have also condemned al-Riyami's arrest. There have been reports of a demonstration at the Omani Embassy in Rabat following al-Riyami's detention, and internet activists are mulling a possible demonstration July 19 at a Muscat mosque. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶10. (C) The Omani government's poor public explanation for making the first round of arrests have led to a cycle of arrests-protests-more arrests. The Sultan's June 9 pardon of those convicted of belonging to an illegal organization has not completely broken the chain. The authorities here, as elsewhere, remain seized with ascertaining the appropriate balance between public order, dissent and new means of disseminating information. BALTIMORE