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.

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Press Reports A Trafficking Case
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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.

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Governemnt Official Denies TIP Link
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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.

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Government may Fail to Identify the Crime
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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