Wednesday 30 / October / 2024
Muscat: Two men who were arrested for crossdressing have been sentenced to four years in jail and fined OMR3,000 by a court in Salalah, the Public Prosecution announced.
According to authorities, the case involved four men, two of whom dressed in women's clothing then posted it on social media app Snapchat. As a result, the men were fined, given prison sentences, and community service.
Public Prosecution said that the first two suspects took a video of themselves dressed in women's clothing, after a while, two others joined the video. The third and fourth suspects were not dressed as women but were aware of the purpose and scenario of the video.
Article 22 of the Omani Penal law 7/2018 stipulates that, "Any male that appears in female clothing or demeanor could be fined up to OMR300 and sentenced to jail for up to one year."
The suspects were sentenced based on a number of charges which not only included dressing in female clothing but also using social media to publish immoral acts.
The preliminary court in Salalah found the first and second suspects guilty on all charges and sentenced the suspects to four years in prison, and a fine of OMR3,000. The court also ordered him to close his social media account and confiscated his phone.
The third and fourth suspects were found guilty on charges of agreeing to publishing immoral acts on social media and were sentenced to three years in prison and fined OMR3,000.
All suspects were also given fours hours daily of community service for a month, which includes road cleaning.
In January, Royal Oman Police (ROP) arrested a number of men parading through the streets in Dhofar dressed as women.
The men were arrested for "wearing women's clothes". In a statement at the time, ROP said, "Referring to the news circulating through social media about a number of men wearing women's clothes in Dhofar. we would like to reveal that the men were arrested and the case is under legal proceedings."
