Thursday, September 8, 2016

Good News! Oman: Omani Prisoner of Conscience Released - URGENT ACTION

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.