Expression
On 14th May 2025, the Court of Appeal in Muscat, after just one session, upheld the initial one-year prison sentence handed down to online activist and religious preacher Talal bin Ahmed Al-Salmani, by the Court of First Instance in Muscat in April 2025 after convicting him of the misdemeanour of participating in a gathering. He was also sentenced to a second year in prison for the misdemeanour of broadcasting news and rumours that undermined the prestige of the state. The court decided to combine the two sentences and implement the harsher one, meaning the first sentence, which also included a fine, was retained. However, the Court of Appeal ordered Al-Salmani to serve only three months in prison. The court’s ruling was swift and lacked the minimum international standards for fair trial and due process.
Reliable local reports confirmed that, upon receipt of the ruling, he was imprisoned in the Central Prison in Samail, south west of the capital Muscat, to serve his sentence.
Previously, on 17th April 2025, he had been released from prison on bail of 800 Omani riyals (USD 2,074) after filing the appeal against his prison sentence.
Association
On 13th May 2025, GCHR, the Omani Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (OCHRD) and ALQST for Human Rights strongly condemned the Lebanese authorities’ ban on Omani human rights defender Nabhan Al-Hanshi, President of the OCHRD, from entering Lebanon. On 11th May 2025, upon his arrival at Beirut International Airport from Cairo International Airport, Al-Hanshi was informed by security authorities that he had been put on the list of those banned from entering Lebanon since 2015. No reasons were given for this arbitrary decision, nor was he informed of the legal basis for the decision.
Al-Hanshi is one of the most prominent human rights defenders in the Sultanate of Oman and has resided in the United Kingdom since 2014. He is also a writer and novelist, with several publications. He was also a prisoner of conscience in the 2012 “Insulting the Sultan” case. While residing in Beirut in 2013, Al-Hanshi founded the OCHRD. Since its founding, the centre has dedicated its efforts to promoting, defending, and protecting human rights in Oman.