Monday 21 / April / 2025
Muscat: An Omani citizen was sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of OMR 1,000 for posting a false video claiming he had been evicted from his home, with the aim of arousing sympathy and casting doubt on the integrity of the Omani judiciary.
Public Prosecution (PP), said in a statement that on April 15, 2025, the Suwaiq Court of First Instance issued a judgment in absentia convicting the defendant, Fathi bin Ali bin Khamis, of committing the misdemeanor of using the internet and information technology to produce and publish material that would harm public order and the misdemeanor of publicly disrespecting the judiciary in a manner that casts doubt on its integrity. The court sentenced him to one year in prison and a fine of OMR 1,000 for the first offense, and two years in prison for the second offense. The sentences were to be combined and the harsher of the two penalties to be implemented. The court ordered the ruling to be published in local newspapers and on social media platforms.
The defendant admitted during the Public Prosecution's investigations that he produced the video clip showing his children in a tent pitched in the open, claiming that he had been evicted from his home pursuant to a court order. He added that his goal in publishing the video was to gain public sympathy, stressing that he still resides in the same house from which he claimed to have been evicted, denying that he had been offered a place for auction, a fact that was actually proven by the investigations conducted in the case.
