Head of State and Prime Minister
His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Sa’id
Diwan of the Royal Court
The Palace, Muscat 113
Sultanate of Oman
Fax: +968 24 735 375
Your Majesty,
On 25 November 2015, state security forces raided the home of Omani human rights defender Saeed Jadad, detained and transferred him to Arzat prison in the city of Salalah. The arrest followed ratification by the Court of Appeal in Salalah, on 18 November, of the sentence issued by the Court of First Instance of a one-year prison term and a fine of 1000 Omani Rials (2600 US$). Saeed Jadad was convicted on alleged charges of “the use of an information network (Internet) in the dissemination of material that would prejudice public order” according to the verdict issued by the Court of First Instance on 07 April 2015.
Reports received by the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) indicate that he has been ill-treated while in prison. Despite his illness he is not provided with the required medical care and has no proper access to his family.
Saeed Jadad is an outspoken and prominent human rights defender in Oman. He used to be an active blogger and has signed several petitions calling for reform in Oman. Yet he has never advocated violence nor taken part in any criminal activity. The international community including the United Nations system recognized his peaceful human rights work.
Therefore, I am writing to you on behalf of the GCHR urging you to immediately release him without any conditions. Also, I respectfully request that you drop all the charges against him as it seems clear to human rights organizations that Saeed Jadad has been targeted solely due to his peaceful and legitimate activities in the field of human rights and because he exercised his right to freedom of expression on the Internet. The GCHR believes that his detention has no basis under international law.
I will take this opportunity to also urge you to guarantee in all circumstances the ability of human rights defenders and journalists in Oman to carry out their legitimate human rights activities, and to be able to freely exercise their right to freedom of expression, without fear of reprisal, and free of restrictions including judicial harassment.
Your sincerely,
Kristina Stockwood
Chairperson
Gulf Centre for Human Rights
www.gc4hr.org
