Abdulaziz Al-Balushi, Omani civil society activist and human rights defender, is a peaceful protester and community figure who participated in nationwide demonstrations demanding job opportunities, social reform and eradication of corruption that began on 23 May 2021 in Sohar, Oman and spread to Salalah, Ibri, Sur, Ibra and Rustaq, actions met by Omani authorities with repression and violations of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression including arrests of demonstrators and the use of excessive force by security forces. During a protest on 26 May 2021 Abdulaziz Al-Balushi delivered a speech to assembled protesters in Sohar in which he encouraged steadfastness in defending civic rights while visibly bearing scars on his back that he said dated from a previous arrest following his participation in the protests of 2011, and later that day he was arbitrarily detained by security forces, held in custody for approximately one day before being released without formal charges, an action that human rights organisations described as part of a broader pattern of criminalisation of peaceful dissent in Oman and prompting online solidarity campaigns including the hashtag #Freedom_To_Abdulaziz_AlBalushi to call for his protection and the respect for fundamental civil rights.