Oman Supreme Court upholds imprisonment of bloggers

The Supreme Court of Oman has upheld a decision that sentenced five bloggers to one-year prison sentences for insulting the Sultan. The ruling was reached on Feb. 25, United Press International reported.

Ali Bin Hilal, Al-Muqabali, Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Habsi, Abdullah Bin Salem Al-Siyabi, Hilal Bin Salim Al-Busaidi and Abdullah Al-Abdali were all arrested for cybercrimes and insulting Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed, Reporters Without Borders reported.

The men claimed that their Facebook pages were hacked and that they were therefore not responsible for the anti-government messages posted on the pages. Five other bloggers are currently facing similar charges for cybercrimes and insulting the Sultan.

According to Reporters Without Borders, 40 people were arrested and charged last year for cybercrimes, illegal assembly or insulting the Sultan.

By Ben Nadler.