Friday 26 / April / 2024
Muscat: The six Omanis detained in India had the opportunity to see their families for the first time in months, thanks to the Oman Human Rights Commission (OHRC).
Oman’s rights commission paid for flights and accommodation for the 13 family members of the accused men as a Ramadan gift, officials said.
The Omanis were detained for allegedly attempting to marry minors in India. Earlier, three Omanis were freed in connection with the charges.
An OHRC delegation arrived in India on Thursday, accompanied by the family members, to meet all six of the detained Omanis.
OHRC Vice-Chairman Yousuf Al Afifi told the Times of Oman, “We hoped that this initiative helped to alleviate the pain they have gone through and bring joy and happiness to their families.”
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He added that OHRC is doing this on humanitarian grounds to enable the six detained Omanis to meet their family members, after eight to nine months of being apart. “OHRC paid for all their air tickets, as well as their accommodations,” he explained.
“I am so happy to see my father after more than nine months of yearning and separation,” said the son of a detained Omani, Emad Talib Alsalhi, aged 12.
“I have five brothers and we miss our father. We feel lonely because of our father’s detention and our mother has been dead for years.”
The detainees also expressed joy at seeing their family members, especially their children. “I cannot describe the joy of seeing my children after so many months of separation. I thank the OHRC for this humanitarian initiative, which we are very pleased with,” Talib Al Salhi, one of the detainees in India, told the Times of Oman.
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“I am so happy to see my children after these long months, we want to return home soon,” said Hasan Al Qasmi, another detainee.
He added, “We call on the authorities in the Sultanate to increase pressure on the Indian authorities to clarify the evidence to prove our conviction. Instead of delaying the trial, seven times in a row now, and continuing to detain us without declaring a conviction,”
The court postponed the hearing on June 4. Al Salhi also claimed that the court had not announced a date for the next hearing.
Positive effect
“Two days of sitting with our parents in detention with commission members had a positive effect on all of us and played a role in easing the feelings of longing between us,” said Mohammed Al Shiyadi, a child of a detainee.
“We listened to their suffering and saw their living conditions, and we met the lawyers of detainees to discuss the status of the case. The visit had a positive effect on the detainees’ morales” OHRC’s Al Afifi said.
Eight Omanis were arrested in September 2017 on charges of attempting to engage in marriage to minors and human trafficking of minors. Three of them, Suliman Al Shiyadi, Mohammed Al Shiyadi and Yasir Al Awadi, were set free and returned to Muscat on April 3. Rashid Al Madsari has been in custody since 2014.
OHRC had earlier urged Indian authorities to either expedite the case or to set them free.
“OHRC hopes that the Indian authorities will continue to provide sufficient guarantees to protect the rights of the Omani detainees in India and accelerate their trials without any further delay, especially as one of them has been in detention since April 2014,” a statement by the commission read.
According to the commission, those who haven’t been proven guilty need to be sent back to Oman immediately. “The commission also hopes that those detained without proof of having committed the crime of marrying a minor should be acquitted,” the statement read.
The OHRC, however, praised the efforts of its counterpart in India. “On the other hand, OHRC wishes to thank its counterpart, the National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC), for following up on the case of the Omani detainees,” the OHRC statement said.
Efforts on
Sheikh Abdullah Al Hosani, Chairman of OHRC, added, “The commission is continuing to play its role in following up on the issue of Omani citizens detained in the Republic of India on the charges of marriage issues of minors, in coordination with all concerned parties.”
He noted, “The efforts have so far, led to the release of three detained citizens, while five others are still being held. In addition to Rashid Al Medsari, who was acquitted in the case of marrying a minor, while still being held in custody in another case, his trial was adjourned dozens of times in nearly four years.”
The Chairman of the OHRC said that the commission will continue its efforts to support the families of the detained citizens and will act to ease their suffering, stressing that this humanitarian initiative in this holy month is a gift for them before Eid Al Fitr.
