Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05MUSCAT1132
2005-07-19 01:05:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Muscat
Cable title:  

ORDER, DISSENT, AND THE INTERNET

Tags:  PHUM PREL SOCI PINR PGOV MU 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
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
-------

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.

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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