GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL DENIES PRESS CLAIM OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 000499 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, G/TIP, DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/02/2018 TAGS: PHUM PREL KCRM KWMN SMIG ELAB KMPI MU SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL DENIES PRESS CLAIM OF TRAFFICKING-RELATED CONVICTION REF: MUSCAT 493 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Alfred Fonteneau, reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (C) Summary: According to local press, a primary court near Muscat recently convicted several third-country nationals on charges of prostitution in a trafficking in persons (TIP)-related case. An official in the Attorney General's office denied that the case involved TIP, claiming that it was a "normal prostitution case" with no signs of force or exploitation. Contacts in the Philippine Embassy claim that Omani authorities often miss signs of the crime, however, and have not investigated allegations of trafficking in other prostitution cases involving Philippine nationals. End summary. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Press Reports A Trafficking Case - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (U) Under the title "Omani Judiciary Faces Off Against Trafficking in Persons," the Arabic daily "al-Shabiba" reported June 28 that a Muscat-area court of first instance had convicted "an Asian national" for running a prostitution ring, sentencing him to four months in an Omani prison and 20 Omani Riyal (OR) (USD 52) in fines. The report further stated that several "female accomplices," also of Asian descent, were convicted of prostitution and sharing in the profits of the prostitution ring, for which the court sentenced them to four months in jail. Both the male and female defendants also were convicted of violating Oman's labor and foreign residency laws, for which they were sentenced an additional month in prison and eventual deportation after time served. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Governemnt Official Denies TIP Link - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (C) In contradiction to the press account, Nasser Abdullah al-Riyami, Assistant Attorney General for Prosecution told poloff that the case had "nothing to do with trafficking" and that the Public Prosecution had found no evidence of forced prostitution or exploitation. Al-Riyami expressed his frustration with the press for linking the case to trafficking, claiming that the female defendants were working in Oman as housemaids and had entered the prostitution ring voluntarily as a way to supplement their incomes. The prosecution charged the women under Article 222 of the Penal 
Code, he said, which prescribes a jail term of two months to two years for anyone who practices prostitution. The male defendant in the case was charged under Article 221, which assigns a penalty of three months to three years in prison and a fine of 20 to 100 OR (USD 20 to 260) to "anyone whose living is based in whole or in part on a third party's earnings from prostitution, either under his protection or influence." Al-Riyami suggested that if the case had involved coerced prostitution, the Public Prosecution would have sought convictions under Article 220, which carries a much stiffer penalty. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Government may Fail to Identify the Crime - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (C) Contacts in the embassies of some labor source countries suggest, however, that the Royal Oman Police (ROP) and the Public Prosecution may ignore or miss possible signs of trafficking when investigating prostitution cases. Suhud Sinsuat (protect),Administrative Officer at the Philippine Embassy in Muscat, provided poloff with the example of an ongoing case involving several Filipina nationals charged with prostitution and violating Oman's labor and residency laws, whom the ROP detained in March after raiding the villa in which they were staying. According to Sinsuat, the women told Philippine Embassy personnel that they actually were victims of forced prostitution. The women alleged that another Filipina national and her Omani boyfriend - who also are facing prostitution charges - defrauded the women into working for them with promises of high salaries. Once the women got to the villa, however, they claimed that they were forced to have sex with multiple men for which they never received payment. Sinsuat told poloff that he has received no information to indicate that the ROP is investigating the women's allegations or treating them as potential victims. ¶5. (C) Comment: It appears that the recent local press reports of a sex trafficking conviction (ref A) were misinformed and perhaps even a clumsy attempt to discredit the USG's claim in the 2008 TIP Report that Oman has not MUSCAT 00000499 002 OF 002 taken steps to prosecute trafficking cases. Post has no evidence to dispute the Assistant Attorney General's description of the case mentioned in "al-Shabiba" on June 28 as one of "normal prostitution." The Philippine Embassy's claims regarding its separate case, however, suggest that Omani authorities may be missing signs of trafficking, which could lead to inappropriate convictions or insufficiently strong sentences. FONTENEAU