Awad Al-Sawafi is a prominent Omani human rights advocate and legal researcher whose peaceful activism has been met with persistent harassment from Omani authorities. He graduated from Al-Buraimi University with a law degree in 2019 and worked as a legal affairs researcher at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources. Despite his qualifications and experience, he was dismissed from his position in March 2024. The decision upheld by the Administrative Court citing unspecified “security reasons”, highlights the influence of the Internal Security Service over judicial decisions. Al-Sawafi’s activism has led to multiple arrests: in 2011 for assembly, resulting in a three-month sentence; in 2012 for allegedly insulting the Sultan, leading to a one-year sentence; in 2016, he was detained without charges for 19 days; and in 2020, he was sentenced to one year in prison for allegedly misusing information technology to harm public order. These detentions were marked by solitary confinement and psychological torture. The exclusions attributed to security interventions prevented him from participating in public life, including candidacies for the Municipal Council in 2012 and the Shura Council in 2023. Al-Sawafi’s case exemplifies the systematic repression faced by human rights defenders in Oman.