PLOTTERS SENTENCED, SMALL PROTEST HELD

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 000716

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/02/2015
TAGS: PGOV SOCI PHUM KISL PINS ASEC MU
SUBJECT: PLOTTERS SENTENCED, SMALL PROTEST HELD

REF: MUSCAT 684 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Ambassador Richard L. Baltimore III.
Reason: 1.4 (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) The State Security Court handed down sentences ranging
from 10-20 years for most of the 31 defendants tried on
charges of participating in an illegal organization and
plotting to overthrow the government. Although no judicial
appeal process is available to the defendants, they can
appeal their sentences to the Sultan. It is likely that most
or all of the defendants to be pardoned within a year or two.
Meanwhile, the police carefully monitored a rare protest
march in favor of the defendants on the evening of May 1, in
which 100-200 young men participated in a peaceful and
orderly manner. End summary.

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Verdicts Handed Down
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2. (U) On May 2, the State Security Court announced verdicts
for the 31 defendants (reftel) charged with belonging to an
illegal organization and plotting to overthrow the
government. Preliminary information indicates that six
defendants received 20-year sentences, twelve received 10
years, twelve received 7 years, and one was sentenced to 1
year. Among the highest profile defendants were Shaykh
Mohammed al-Shi'aili, the official in the Royal Diwan
responsible for organizing summer religious study programs,
who received a 20-year sentence; and Shaykh Kahlan
al-Kharusi, a senior official in the Ministry of Awqaf and
Religious Affairs who headed the Omani hajj delegation to
Mecca this year, who received a 10-year sentence. At least
one press source quoted Court President Hilal bin Hamad
al-Busaidi as saying there was process available for
appealing the verdicts, and also affirming that the Sultan
could pardon defendants at his discretion.

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Rare Protest March
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3. (SBU) A protest march in support of the defendants and
involving 100-200 Omani men took place on the evening of May
1 in the al-Khuwair neighborhood of greater Muscat, at least
five kilometers from the chancery. Many of the participants
(males only, predominately in their 20's and 30's) are
believed to have been from among the students of several of
the arrestees who taught in academic institutions or in local
mosques. Some family members are also believed to have taken
part.


4. (SBU) Calls for the demonstration, with details on time
and location, first started spreading on the Internet message
board al-Sablah on April 30. The word was further spread
through cellular phone text messaging. While demonstrations
are a rarity in Oman and take place, when they do, without
legal sanction, both police and demonstrators typically
adhere to an unwritten code of conduct. In the May 1 march,
the police allowed the demonstrators to coalesce following
maghreb prayers (around 7 pm) at the Said bin Taymur Mosque
and begin their procession towards a commercial intersection
about two miles distant through a largely residential
neighborhood. Riot police barricaded their route at roughly
the halfway point, however, before the marchers entered a
more heavily trafficked commercial zone. The protesters then
returned along the same route to the Said bin Taymur Mosque
before dispersing. No arrests were reported or observed to
have taken place, and the demonstrators remained at all times
peaceful and orderly.

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Comment
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5. (C) The sentences handed down were generally in line with
expectations. The Sultan will probably pardon most or all of
the defendants long before they serve a substantial portion
of their sentences, perhaps as early as the 35th National Day
celebrations -- coinciding with his 65th birthday -- in
November. We suspect the government is sensitive to the
notion that a vocal segment of the public -- particularly
among Ibadhis -- is still unconvinced that the mainstream
officials and scholars from among the defendants had any
intent to overthrow the government in favor of an Ibadhi
religious leader (Imam). Perhaps by coincidence, the
demonstrators began their march from the Said bin Taymur
Mosque, named for the Sultan's father who also happened to be
the one that abolished the Ibadhi Imamate in the 1950's.
While the case has touched a nerve in Omani society, it is
unlikely to generate any significant public protests.
BALTIMORE