Oman: Shuhuh Tribe Member Forcibly Disappeared
Masoud Ali Abdullah al-Shahi (48) is a member of the Shuhuh tribe. In the course of 2020, he lost his job in a private company in the UAE due to the pandemic and returned to Musandam.The Shuhuh tribe exists on both sides of the UAE-Omani border and its members make up the majority of the residents of Musandam, known locally as Ru’us al-Jibal, which is a territorial exclave of Oman. The Shuhuh tribe and Musandam province have culturally distinct practices from mainland Oman, including the manner of dress and agricultural and animal husbandry practices. Their practice of Islam also differs from the Ibadi sect that predominates in Oman.
There have been waves of arbitrary detentions of Musandam residents championing the region’s local history and culture since 2015, and reliable reports of arbitrary detention of Shuhuh tribe members in Musandam dating back at least to 1991. In addition, the government has repeatedly undertaken demolitions of homes on the pretext that they are in violation of building codes. Authorities have often expropriated lands for state use after demolishing the homes built on them. Since September 2014, the “immediate removal team” of the Ministry of Regional Municipalities & Water Resources has announced the imminent or completed demolition of dwellings and other local structures in Musandam’s Dibba, Khasab, and Bukha municipalities on at least 15 occasions.
Between May and April 2018, six men, all from the Shuhuh tribe and including a national of the United Arab Emirates, were arrested and subject to enforced disappearance for several months. Between August and October 2018, following an unfair trial, a court in Muscat sentenced the six men to life imprisonment on charges that included “using information technology to prejudice the security and unity of the country and its territories”. On 17 November 2019, the Sultan pardoned four of the six prisoners who were released a year later. The other two men were released in April 2021. One of the victims, after his release, spoke with Amnesty International and confirmed that he was tortured.
Oman severely curtails freedom of expression in the country resulting in the prosecution of critics, activists and peaceful demonstrators.