Cairo: 26 September, 2016

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) deprecated the ruling issued yesterday (26 September) to permanently close “Azamn” daily journal and jail three of its journalists, including the newspaper’s editor-in-chief.

Yesterday, the Muscat Court of First Instance sentenced both Azamn’s Chief Editor Ibrahim al-Maamari and the Editorial Secretary Yousef al-Baloushi- aka Yousef Al-Haj- to three years of imprisonment in addition to to a fine of 3000 RO (US $7792) per capita, and a ban on working as a journalist for a period of one year.

The court also sentenced Zaher Al-Abri, a journalist in the same newspaper, to one-year imprisonment and fined him a thousand Omani riyals (US $2597).

The court set a bail of 50,000 rials ($ 129867) for Mamari and Balushi in case they decided to appeal the rulings, while Abri’s bail was set at 5,000 rials ($ 12986). Based on the charge sheet read at court, the three journalists were convicted of “misusing the Internet and undermining the prestige of the state”.

It’s worth to mention that on the 9^th of last August, the Minister of Information Ministerial decision number 80/2016 ordering the closure of Azamn newspaper, the ban of its publication and circulation by all means and the blocking of its website. The Omani Internal Security Service (ISS)- Intelligence- has also arrested journalist and Deputy Editor of “Azamn”, Yousef Al-Haj, who worked as the Acting Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper, to be the third official from the newspaper’s editorial board who got detained. In a previous incident, ISS arrested Zaher Al-Abri, a journalist in the newspaper, after he was summoned to appear before the Special Division of the Omani police on Wednesday 3 August 2016, together with the paper’s editor-in-chief, Ibrahim al-Maamari, who was arrested on July 28in the same yea; against the backdrop of publishing a report alleging the Supreme Court’s President is interfering to undermine the judicial independence by carrying out directives from “supreme bodies”.

“The ruling to shut down Azamn newspaper and jail three of its journalists fosters the concealment of the administrative corruption and deprives the Omani citizen from monitoring the performance of his government. Only those who are benefiting from law violation and administrative corruption are the ones whom are supported by the ruling”, ANHRI said.

ANHRI added, “The use of the judiciary to curb freedom of opinion and expression and send journalists to prison leads to the prevalence of corruption and the citizens’ reluctance to participate which would result in the collapse of the regime. On the other hand, resorting to ways of reply and facts rectification regarding what is addressed by the press is enshrined in the press charters and codes of conduct, which allow citizens to contact the newspaper for the rectification, reply or even the denial of the piece of information, and which also give the governments the right to publish all the data. All of these means ensure the correction of any press errs if occurred”.

ANHRI called on the authorities in Oman to rectify the infringement embodied in the ruling in the court of appeal, in support of democracy and to establish the state of law.

For related topics:

http://anhri.ne reluctance t/?p=172128&lang=en