Hilal Al-Alawi is an Omani human rights defender, blogger, and Internet activist who has been repeatedly targeted by the authorities for his peaceful activism. In 2011 he was among the demonstrators in Sohar, part of the broader wave of protests across the Arab world,  he was arrested and later sentenced to five years in prison on charges of allegedly “forcing civil servants out of their offices.” He served two and a half years of that sentence before being released under an amnesty granted by Sultan Qaboos.

While imprisoned, he carried out numerous hunger strikes and on several occasions sewed his mouth shut with a needle and thread in protest against his mistreatment and the denial of basic rights. His actions drew attention to the plight of prisoners of conscience in Oman and made him a widely respected figure among activists and ordinary citizens alike. In the years following his release, Al-Alawi continued to use online platforms to advocate for detained human rights defenders and to criticize government practices. His persistence in defending freedom of expression and prisoners of conscience led to renewed targeting by the Internal Security Service (ISS) and the Special Division of the Omani Police. On 23 August 2015, he was arrested and detained incommunicado at the Special Division in Muscat, before being released on 31 August. Less than six months later, on 29 February 2016, he was once again summoned for interrogation before the Special Division in Sohar, where he was held incommunicado and denied access to his family and lawyer. Reports indicated that his arrest was linked to a short video clip he had posted on WhatsApp marking the anniversary of the 2011 protests in Sohar.