Omani forces arrest anti-government activists
Omani security forces have launched a crackdown on anti-government activists, arresting several people in the country in the past two weeks.
Six people were arrested on Friday night and four others in separate incidents in the past two weeks amid rising discontent in the Persian Gulf state, activists said on Saturday.
Blogger Hassan Rukaishi, authors Hammoud al-Rashedi and Nabhan al-Hanashi and poet Hamad al-Kharusi are among the detainees, Reuters reported.
A group of human rights activists said the arrests came after the general prosecution threatened to take legal action against "defamatory writings or anyone making incitement calls under the pretext of freedom of expression."
Salim al-Tuwayyah, a blogger who also works at a local newspaper, said anger was rising over the government's failure to deliver on promises for better living conditions.
"There is a lot of worry that this campaign may spread to other activists and bloggers," Tuwayyah said.
"There is an urgent need to try to find real solutions to the problems facing the country, raise salaries and put officials suspected of corruption on trial," he added.
Source: presstv.com
