The Muscat Court of Appeal has upheld a lower court’s decision sentencing writer and film critic Abdullah Habib to three years in prison with six months’ suspension. Habib was originally sentenced in November 2016 on charges relating to contempt for religion, blasphemy against God, and spreading hatred. His appeal hearing had been repeatedly postponed since January 2017 before the Appeal Court handed down its ruling on April 2, 2018.
The Omani Centre for Human Rights condemns the sentence imposed on Abdullah Habib. It calls on the Omani authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally, and to protect the right to freedom of thought and expression and freedom to publish.
