Ali Al-Saadi is an Omani protester from the province of Shinas who was arrested for participating in peaceful demonstrations demanding economic reforms, job opportunities and accountability, and whose detention and subsequent release illustrate the Omani authorities’ broader restrictions on freedom of assembly and expression. Al-Saadi, then aged 28, took part in the popular protests that began in Sohar on 23 May 2021 and spread to other provinces, where mostly young people gathered to call on the government to address unemployment, improve living conditions and eradicate corruption. These protests were described as peaceful but nonetheless met with arrests and charges against participants. On 30 May 2021, the Royal Oman Police arrested Al-Saadi alongside other peaceful protest participants including Abdullah Salem Obaid Al-Badi, Abdullah Salem Abdullah Al-Badi, Mohammed Al-Qarini and Nahyan Al-Badi on a range of charges that local rights monitors reported included incitement to assembly, closure of the highway, assaulting policemen and misuse of information technology, charges routinely used against peaceful demonstrators and reflecting the legal constraints applied to suppress public dissent. He was detained for several weeks before being permitted to secure his release on bail on 12 June 2021, and most of the more serious charges were subsequently dropped, with only the lesser public order-related charges retained. There are no credible reports of further prolonged detention following his release.