Khalfan Al-Badwawi is an Omani human rights defender who has been subjected to continuous harassment, intimidation, and threats from the Omani Internal Security Apparatus because of his activism. His work has focused on civil society engagement and the defense of fundamental freedoms, which has placed him under constant pressure from the authorities.

He was first arrested on 6 June 2012 on charges of “Insulting the Sultan,” alongside other human rights defenders, and only two weeks later he was dismissed from his position at Sohar Aluminum. After more than three months in detention, he was released on 11 September 2012, but the judicial harassment against him persisted. His trial was repeatedly postponed fourteen times until 31 March 2013, when Sultan Qaboos announced an amnesty for those accused of “Insulting the Sultan” and “Illegal gathering.”

Despite the amnesty, Al-Badwawi continued to face persecution. On 7 November 2013 he was arrested arbitrarily for a second time by the Internal Security Apparatus and interrogated about his human rights work. He was pressured to cease his activities and released the following day. After attending a civil society training in Morocco in December 2013, he returned briefly to Oman where the threats against him intensified to the point that he was forced to leave for Lebanon on 17 December 2013. Only two days later, on 19 December, the authorities began to target his family directly, summoning his father for interrogation and demanding that Al-Badwawi return to Oman by 26 December.