Mukhtar Al-Hanai
Mukhtar Al-Hanai was arrested on 4 August 2015 while travelling to the United Arab Emirates. Mukhtar Al-Hanai was previously arrested in June 2012 due to his participation in a peaceful protest calling for the release of human rights defenders from prison. In September 2012 he was sentenced to one year imprisonment and a fine on charges of insulting the Sultan through “offensive writings and violating the information technology law.” He was released in 2013 following a pardon from Sultan Qaboos.
HRDs remain under constant surveillance by the security services and are subject to summons for questioning by security officials. Independent human rights organizations are not permitted to operate within the country. Besides the Penal Code, the Information Technology law and the Press and Publications law are widely used to silence human rights defenders and independent voices.
