Death while in custody of Mr. Hassan Al-Basham

Death while in custody

Oman

May 15, 2018

The Observatory for the Protection ofHuman Rights Defenders, a partnership of the World Organisation Against Torture(OMCT) and FIDH, requests your urgent intervention in the following situationin Oman.

Brief descriptionof the information:

The Observatory has been informed byreliable sources about the death while in custody of Mr. Hassan Al-Basham, a prominent onlineactivist and human rights defender in Oman, who regularly defended prisoners ofconscience in his numerous writings online.

Accordingto the information received, on April 28, 2018, Mr. Hassan Al-Basham passedaway after a sudden deterioration of his health due to the sharp dropin his blood sugar level, while serving athree-year sentence in Samail Central Prison, on charges of “using the internetin what might be prejudicial to religious values” and of “insulting the Sultan”(see background information).

Beforehe died, Mr. Al-Basham would have been left for an undisclosed period of timelying on the ground without receiving any medical attention.

TheObservatory condemns in the strongest terms Mr. Hassan Al-Basham’s death incustody and urges the Omani authorities to immediately order an immediate,thorough, impartial and transparent investigation for those responsible to beheld accountable.

Background information:

Mr.Hassan Al-Basham was first arrested by the Internal Security Service (ISS) onSeptember 17, 2015 and appeared before the Special Division of the Omani Policein Sohar. He was released on September 23, 2015, and then arrested again twodays later, on September 25, 2015.

OnOctober 18, 2015, Mr. Al-Basham was reportedly transferred to the PublicProsecution’s Office in Sohar, which directed several charges against him. Thefirst hearing in the trial was held on October 30, 2015.

OnFebruary 8, 2016, the Court of First Instance in Sohar sentenced Mr. Al-Bashamto three years in prison on charges of “using the internet in what might beprejudicial to religious values.” He was also convicted of “insulting theSultan” and fined 500 Omani Rials (US$ 1,300).

OnJune 13, 2016, the Court of Appeal in Sohar upheld the three-year prisonsentence against Mr. Al-Basham. The charge for “insulting the Sultan”, and itssubsequent fine, was overturned.

OnJanuary 17, 2017, the High Court of Oman revoked the three-year prison sentenceagainst Al-Basham after examining his case. The ruling was based on hisdeteriorating health, taking into account that the request for a medicalexamination of the defendant was ignored during the trial, and was referredback to the Court of Appeal.

However,on November 19, 2017, the Court of Appeal in Sohar again upheld the initialverdict of three-year imprisonment, to which the Court of First Instance inMuscat had sentenced him. The Court of Appeal reportedly did not allow thedefence team to present its evidence and medical reports.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities in Oman,urging them to:

i.Order an immediate, thorough, impartial andtransparent investigation into Mr. Hassan Al-Basham’s death in custody, in order to identify all thoseresponsible, bring them before an independent tribunal, and sanction them asprovided by the law;

ii. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychologicalintegrity of all human rights defenders in Oman;

iii. Put an end to all acts of harassment, including at thejudicial level, against all human rights defenders in Oman, and ensure thatthey are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities withouthindrance or fear of reprisals;

iv. Conform with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rulesfor the Treatment of Prisoners, which includes the obligation to providetreatment during detention;

v. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human RightsDefenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9,1998, in particular with Articles 6, 12.1 and 12.2;

vi. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamentalfreedoms in accordance with international human rights standards andinternational instruments ratified by Oman.

Addresses:

· Mr. Abdulmalik bin Abdullah AlKhalili, Minister of Justice of Oman, Email: info@moj.gov.om

· Mr. Hamoud bin Faisal binSaeed Al Busaidi, Minister of Interior of Oman, Email: off@moi.gov.om

· Hon. Sheikh Abdullah bin Shuwain Al-Hosni, Chairman of Oman Human RightsCommission, Sultanate of Oman. Fax: 24218906

· H.E. Mr. Abdulla Nasser Al Rahbi, Ambassador, Permanent Mission ofthe Sultanate of Oman to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Fax: +41 22758 96 66, Email: missionoman@bluewin.ch

Please also write to thediplomatic mission or embassy of Oman located in your country.

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Geneva-Paris, May 15, 2018

Kindly inform us of any action undertakenquoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory for theProtection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 bythe World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH. The objective of thisprogramme is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rightsdefenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented byinternational civil society.

To contact the Observatory, call theemergency line:

• E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

• Tel and fax OMCT + 41(0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29 • Tel and fax FIDH: + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80