ARRESTS SPARK CONTROVERSY, SEND SIGNAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MUSCAT 000148

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR NEA/APRI, DRL/PHD (J.DAVIS, D.ABRAMSON)
STATE ALSO FOR DS/IP/NEA, DS/IP/ITA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PINS SCUL ASEC MU
SUBJECT: ARRESTS SPARK CONTROVERSY, SEND SIGNAL

REF: 04 MUSCAT 2226 AND PREVIOUS

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (SBU) Omani chat-rooms and dinner conversations have been
dominated in recent weeks by widely held rumors that the
security services have arrested a dozen Omani citizens in
late-night raids spread across three separate regions. While
the government has not publicly acknowledged the arrests
despite increasing media attention, speculation focuses on
possible religious pretexts behind the security measures.
Names of 13 alleged detainees (most believed to belong to the
predominant Ibadhi sect),and pictures of doors damaged in
the police raids, have been posted to local Internet
websites. A Paris-based Arab human rights NGO issued a
statement January 23 condemning the "arbitrary arrests" in
the Sultanate. Many Omanis take the events as sign that the
government is closely scrutinizing religious activities that
exceed its tolerance. End summary.

--------------
Internet Spreads Consistent Stories
--------------


2. (SBU) Since December, 2004, rumors have run rampant in
Oman concerning the arrest and detention of roughly one dozen
Omanis at the hands of special security services, reputedly
in a series of late-night raids on their homes. Local
Internet chat-rooms (Al Sablah and Al Majara) have been abuzz
for weeks with the reports, often posted by relatives or
close friends of those alleged to have been captured in the
security sweep. Embassy employees have heard numerous (and
credible) second-hand reports of the arrests in their home
villages and from close personal contacts. Broader Arab
media, including the Al Jazeera, Al Arabia and Al Hurra news
networks, have also reported on the arrests. Agence
France-Presse has also published a report of unsubstatiated
"rumors" about the arrests.


3. (SBU) Al Sablah and Al Majara have posted the names of
thirteen individuals allegedly captured and detained by the
security services, hailing primarily from three regions of
Oman: Muscat, Dakhaliyah, and Sharqiyah. The names provided
are as follows:

-- Mohammed al-Gharbi, assistant lecturer, Sultan Qaboos
University
-- Dr. Ali al-Abri, university lecturer
-- Dr. Jabir al-Sa'adi, lecturer, College of Shariah and Law
-- Dr. Yusuf al-Sarhani, university lecturer
-- Salih al-Rabkhi, Director of Mosque Affairs, Diwan of the
Royal Court
-- Zaher al-Alawi, Islamic preacher
-- Ahmed Mohammed al-Harthy, teacher
-- Said al-Harthy, former judge
-- Mohammed al-Shuaili, religious supervisor at Sultan Qaboos
University
-- Salim al-Sa'adi
-- Said al-Saqri
-- Khalifa al-Mahrouqi
-- Sheikh al-Numani

Sheikh al-Numani had appeared on earlier lists but was
subsequently removed, presumably after having been released.
While included on the list with the others, Ahmed Mohammed
al-Harthy is widely reputed to have been arrested in
connection with the shooting of a British citizen in 2004
that was believed to have been of a personal rather than
political nature. There is also limited speculation that
perhaps dozens of other Omanis have at least been questioned
by authorities in connection with the arrests.

--------------
Few Facts, Numerous Theories
--------------


4. (SBU) In the absence of formal charges or public
acknowledgment of the alleged arrests by the government,
speculation runs rampant on what the detainees may have done
to warrant this action. The most prevalent theories lean
toward the detainees having held religious views that went
beyond the government's comfort level. (Note: The last
government crackdown of a similar scale took place in 1994,
when dozens of government officials and other Omanis were
arrested for alleged participation in a Muslim Brotherhood
cell. All were subsequently pardoned, with several of them
returning to senior positions. End note.) Without a firm
basis of proof, the majority of the alleged detainees are
believed to be Ibadhi Muslims and relatively young; many of
them occupy leadership positions that put them in close
proximity to impressionable Omani youth.


5. (SBU) While some Omanis fearfully speculate the detainees
were plotting acts of terror, most presume that the detainees
were somehow singled out for holding critical opinions about
the government. One of the more credible theories suggests
that the detainees are Ibadhi conservatives unhappy with
perceptions that the government is downplaying the primacy of
Ibadhism relative to other schools of Islamic thought. Apart
from the alleged shooter Ahmed Mohammed al-Harthy, however,
none of our contacts have imputed the other detainees with
violent beliefs or natures. Pictures of at least one door
allegedly busted down during the police raids have been
posted on the Internet, and the widely held beliefs that the
raids were conducted in the middle of the night have been a
particular lightning rod of criticism.

--------------
French NGO Condemns Arbitrary Arrests
--------------


6. (U) Paris-based NGO "Arab Commission for Human Rights"
issued a statement January 23 following comments to the Al
Jazeera network on the "arbitrary arrests" in Oman.
According to its website, the ACHR was founded in 1998 by a
group of 15 human rights advocates from several Arab states,
not including Oman. (Note: An allegedly banned Omani writer,
Abdullah al-Riyami (reftel),posted the ACHR statement to a
local Internet site and gave an interview to Al Hurra,
leading to speculation that he was behind the NGO's action.
End note.) Our informal translation of the somewhat
contradictory statement is as follows: (begin text)

The Arab Commission for Human Rights expresses its deep
concern for the continuation of the series of arrests in the
Sultanate of Oman which began 33 days ago and continued until
the eve of Eid al-Adha.

The campaign of arrests included a number of geographical
regions, mainly Muscat, Nizwa, al-Qabil, Bahla, Manah, and
al-Hamra. Some of the arrested were renowned for their
religious fanaticism, criticism of the internal situation,
and verbal hostility to American policies.

Most of the arrests were made between 1:00 and 3:00 a.m. when
residences were stormed and doors broken, entering into
bedrooms followed by careless searches. As direct result,
children were psychologically traumatized by the signs of
violence against their father, or their elder brother.
According to a lawyer close to the ACHR, arrested persons are
not exceptionally more religious compared to the ordinary
level observed in the country. Further, there were no
immediate threats nor involvement in armed violence or
terrorism. Nothing is known about the fate nor the
whereabouts of the detainees. They were allowed to contact
their families only once on January 19, 2005. They were not
indicted and (there are) no signs of any trial nor a role of
the judicial authority.

The Arab Commission for Human Rights calls on the Omani
authorities to stop all arbitrary arrests in the country,
provide defense facilities for each defendant and to bring
them to fair and public justice, and not to slip further into
oppressive policing attitude for resolving political and
social problems of the country.

Paris, January 23, 2005. (End text.)

--------------
Best Guess
--------------


7. (SBU) Our more dispassionate Omani interlocutors point out
that the security services are not in the habit of randomly
arresting citizens without some reason, even if the pretext
does not always hold up to the highest legal standards. The
theory that the detainees were unhappy with government
efforts to promote religious tolerance at the expense of
Ibadhism's predominance strikes us as a distinct possibility,
particularly given the fact that the government does indeed
seek to avoid granting preference for any particular school
of Islamic thought. Nevertheless, based on past experiences,
there is a general expectation that the detainees will be
eventually released with some vague warning not to engage in
objectionable behavior or to divulge their experiences in
custody. Whatever the actual basis for the alleged
detentions, a clear message has been received by the Omani
public that the government is wary of any religious activity
that could possibly undermine the public order or lead to
sectarian tensions.
BALTIMORE