Humph

Hunger strike continues in prison. Major re-shuffle of National Human Rights Commission in Oman. And another embarrassing Human Rights Watch report on Oman. Makes you wonder what went wrong with the previous members and why a new committee was appointed amid the hunger-strike crisis.

Hunger Strike in Samail Central Jail

Kudos to Muscat Daily for publishing a piece on the current prison hunger strike involving 21 of the many activists, writers, bloggers, poets and a handful of idiots who were charged with lèse majesté and illegal gathering last year. I've been quietly following individual updates on each prisoner via their friends and families. Some of them are in bad condition, and to the best of my knowledge Said Al Hashmi (activist) has been moved to the ROP Hospital.

 

FYI - Dhofari activist Said Jadad (see posts below), was released after a week in detention. He is known to be very outspoken on his blog. During his interrogation, he was asked if he had been in touch with any international human rights organizations (WTF - why is everyone so obsessed with this question?). An interesting piece of information that wouldn't be released under normal circumstances is that Shaikh Salim Mustahil Al Mashani, an influential Omani figure and relative to His Majesty played a role in securing Said's release. More on that in this Gulf News piece.

 

I know things have gone quiet in the press, but there's a lot going on..... stay tuned.