TAYBAH AL-MA'WALI SENTENCE REDUCED TO 6 MONTHS

UNCLAS MUSCAT 001238 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARPI, DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM SOCI PREL PINR MU SUBJECT: TAYBAH AL-MA'WALI SENTENCE REDUCED TO 6 MONTHS REF: MUSCAT 1203 AND PREVIOUS (SBU) Taybah al-Ma'wali was sentenced by a Muscat appeals court on August 7 to six months in prison, a significant reduction from the original sentence of eighteen months. According to her family, she was taken immediately into custody. Until the verdict is published (it may take up to one week),it is not clear whether either of the two charges for which she was originally sentenced ("insulting a public official" and "using means of communication to spread false information") may have been dropped. Her family indicated that, once the verdict is published, they will start the process to appeal her case to the Supreme Court. BALTIMORE