Amnesty International
Omani
prisoner of conscience Saeed Jaddad was released from prison on 26
August, having served nine months of a one-year prison sentence under
Oman’s cybercrimes law for a blog he wrote in October 2014.
Saeed Jaddad,
an Omani businessman and human rights activist, aged 50, was released
on 26 August from Arzat Prison, west of Dhofar province’s capital,
Salalah. He had served three quarters of a one-year prison sentence
issued following his conviction on charges of “inciting to break
national unity and spreading discord within society” in relation to a
blog he wrote in October 2014 in which he compared the 2011 protests in
Dhofar province to the 2014 protests in Hong Kong. Under Article 76 of
the Omani Penal Code a sentence can be suspended if the prisoner is
judged to have reformed and has served three quarters of their sentence.