Talib Al Mamari
Talib Al Mamari | |
|---|---|
طالب المعمري | |
 Official Majlis al‑Shura portrait of Talib Al Mamari | |
| Member of the Consultative Assembly Of Oman | |
| In office 2011–2013 | |
| Constituency | Liwa |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Talib Ahmad Muhammad Al Mamari 24 May 1972 Liwa, Sultanate Of Oman |
| Awards | Alkarama Award For Human Rights Defenders |
Talib Al Mamari (Arabic: طالب المعمري, romanized: Ṭālib al-Maʻammarī; born 24 May 1972) is an Omani activist, human rights defender award laureate and former parliamentarian who served in the Omani Consultative Assembly (Majlis al-Shura) from 2011 until he was arrested in 2013 after having taken part in a peaceful demonstration against pollution caused by the petrochemical industries in his native region of Liwa.[1]
Born in the Wilayah (Province) of Liwa, in the Al Batinah North Governorate of Oman, Al Mamari worked as an Arabic language teacher before becoming president of the Arabic language section of Sohar University for 12 years. Following parliamentary reform in Oman that took place in 2011, Al Mamari was elected to the Omani Consultative Assembly (Majlis al-Shura), the lower house of the Council Of Oman, which assists the government in drawing up the general policies of the state while representing his Wilayah (Province) of Liwa.[2]
Al Mamari received widespread attention in 2013 - 2014 when he was arrested in August 2013 for participating in an environmental protest which prompted a number of human rights organisations and nations to issue statements calling for his release and a United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNGAD) opinion was made (Al Mamari v. Oman, No. 53/2014), stating that his detention was arbitrary and his right to freedom of expression was violated.[2] He was charged with "harming the State's prestige", "obstructing traffic", and "disturbing public order.", and sentenced for three years before being granted a royal pardon.[3][4]
Early life
[edit]Talib Ahmad Muhammad Al Mamari was born on 24 May 1972 in the Wilayah (Province) of Liwa, in the Al Batinah North Governorate. Al Mamari worked as an Arabic language teacher before becoming president of the Arabic language section of Sohar University for 12 years. He was then detained in Sohar during the Arab Spring protests in early 2011. He was eventually released without any conviction. He then ran for elections and won a seat in the Shura Council in 2011 after parliamentary reform.[5][2]
Member of the Majilis al-Shura (2011-2013)
[edit]Al Mamari was elected as a member of the Shura Council following parliamentary reform in Oman that took place in 2011. He had been a vocal advocate against environmental damage and pollution in Liwa, and had staunchly defended his province’s interest in the parliament and criticised the government’s commitment to the rule of law and its system of governance.[6]
In late 2012, Al Mamari was allegedly beaten, threatened and handcuffed by police officers in the room of a hotel where he was staying, with the threats being in connection to his role in the Shura Council and his vocal criticisms of the government. In 2012, the Public Prosecution commenced proceedings against Al Mamari for having posted a criticism of an employee of the Omani Ministry of Housing on the social media website Facebook, with the prosecution requesting the Shura Council to lift his parliamentary immunity in order to charge him with having committed an act of defamation. The Shura Council rejected that request.[2]
Protest and arrest
[edit]Protest
[edit]
On August 22, 2013, Al Mamari, among others, were involved in a peaceful demonstration against industrial pollution posing a health hazard for those living in Liwa. Eyewitnesses told Times of Oman that the demonstrators, both men and women, wearing traditional Omani clothes, protested with placards in their hands on a dirt road outside the Sohar Port. "We have been breathing poison. Have mercy on us, we want clean air," read one placard carried by a young man, one of the eyewitnesses said.[7] Despite the demonstration being purely peaceful, with video footage provided by the Chairman of the Shura Council showing a group of some 100 individuals marching peacefully, numerous security force agents fired tear gas and used a water cannon to disperse the crowd, resulting in injuries to many individuals, including to Al Mamari.[6][8]
Arrest
[edit]The day after the protest, on 23 August 2013, Al Mamari is reported to have met with Shura Council members and security authorities to discuss the protests and the response of the security forces. After the meeting, Al Mamari returned to his brother, Captain Murad Al Maamari's house in the early hours of 24 August 2013, where he was staying at the time. Upon his arrival, it is alleged that the house was surrounded by dozens of police cars. A large number of police officers then entered the house and arrested him and was charged with the offence of “gathering in public”.[2]
Arrested and placed in detention, he was held in solitary confinement in the Muscat National Security Prison and was not authorised to see his lawyer during the whole period preceding his appeal. His brother Captain Murad Al Maamari stated: "Last Friday, my brother had access to his lawyer for the first time since his detention 14 days ago,” adding that during interrogation Dr. Al Mamari had denied the charges of inciting the crowd.Rearrested later that same day on accusations that he was responsible for incitement during Friday prayers at a mosque; a brief video, presumably linked to the previous protests, was presented by the Chairman of the Majlis A’Shura to the Committee and shows Mr. Al-Mamari saying: “If the government policy towards citizens does not change in the coming five years, there will be a storm”.[1][9]
In December 2013, the Court of Muscat sentenced Al Mamari to four years in prison and a 500 Rials (about 1,300 US dollars) fine for "harming the State's prestige" as well as one year for "disturbing public order" and "obstructing traffic". After several retrials, during which one of the complainants claimed numerous violations of due process and judicial independence, and after Al Mamari was repeatedly held for months without being granted bail, the Court of Appeal lowered his final sentence to three years in October 2014.[6]
On May 7, 2014, several Omani citizens were arrested for unknown reasons, with many of their relatives speculating that it was due to their demand for the release of Talib Al-Mamari and their communication with several human rights organizations regarding this matter.[10]
All of this prompted a number of human rights organisations and nations to issue statements calling for his release and a United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNGAD) opinion was made (Al Mamari v. Oman, No. 53/2014) [1], stating that his detention was arbitrary and his right to freedom of expression was violated. Nevertheless, the Omani authorities did not comply with the request of the WGAD to release Al Mamari and he remained in custody.[1]
Release
[edit]Al Mamari was released from Sama'il prison near Muscat, the capital of Oman on the 4th of May, 2016 on a royal pardon from the late Sultan Qaboos.[1]
Awards
[edit]On the 8th of December, 2015, while he was still imprisoned, Al Mamari received Alkarama, a Geneva-based human rights organisation's 2015 Award for Human Rights Defenders in the Arab World, in recognition of his significant work defending human rights in the country. Alkarama stated, "His nomination honours Al Mamari's courage speaking up for the Omani civil society before the Parliament and reminding both the government and petrochemical companies of their obligations." Mourad Dhina, Executive Director at Alkarama, stated:
"Talib Al Mamari is a prisoner of conscience and a courageous human rights defender. By his unwavering non-violent fight against harmful environmental policies in Oman, he has become a model in the region as a dedicated militant who is genuinely close to the citizens' concerns. Alkarama is proud to honour him."[11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Oman: Human Rights Defender and Alkarama Award Laureate Talib Al Mamari released from prison | Alkarama". www.alkarama.org. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
- ^ a b c d e "Opinions adopted by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention at its seventy-first session (17 to 21 November 2014)" (PDF). www.worldcourts.com.
- ^ "Omani parliamentarian remains imprisoned amidst crackdown on dissent". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
- ^ "Calls for Oman to release wrongfully jailed former MP". National Assembly Of Zambia. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
- ^ "Jailed Omani MP released after royal pardon". Gulf News: Latest UAE news, Dubai news, Business, travel news, Dubai Gold rate, prayer time, cinema. 2018-09-15. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
- ^ a b c "Oman - Decision adopted by the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-08-24.
- ^ "Times of Oman | News :: Peace restored in Liwa". 2013-08-25. Archived from the original on 25 August 2013. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
- ^ Munro, Blair (2014-01-29). "TORTURE IN OMAN". Gulf Centre for Human Rights. Retrieved 2025-07-03.
- ^ Chief, By Sunil K. Vaidya, Bureau (2018-09-15). "Detained Shura member facing two charges". Gulf News: Latest UAE news, Dubai news, Business, travel news, Dubai Gold rate, prayer time, cinema. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ admin (2024-02-15). "The Annual Report of the Human Rights in Oman - 2014". OCHRD Oman. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
- ^ "Omani MP Talib Al Mamari to Receive 2015 Alkarama Award for Human Rights Defenders | Alkarama". www.alkarama.org. Retrieved 2025-04-27.