Name: Muawiya Al Rawahi
Occupation: Poet, writer, blogger
Country: Sultanate of Oman
Current State: Held on remand
Conviction: Inciting to hatred, and abusing Emirati figures, and 1st court hearing is set at 14 September 2015.
Muawiya Al Rawahi is an Omani poet, writer and blogger. He was born in 1983. He has 8 books on stories and poetry. Moreover, he has a popular blog named “Boa’a Boa’a Wase’a” and a channel on YouTube.
The Emirati security body, on 24 February 2015, intercepted Muawiya Al Rawahi on the border and did not allow him to return. Monitor of Human Rights in Oman thinks the arrest of Al Rawahi by Emirati security forces came due to his tweets on Twitter criticizing Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
On his Facebook account, Al Rawahi’s father mentioned that he only had received a phone call from his son after one month of his arrest. Adding that, Al Rawahi was calling from the headquarters of Abu Dhabi’s state security prosecution, and asked them to delegate a lawyer to follow up the case. His family has called Omani Embassy to UAE, which then delegated lawyer to him.
Initially, Emirati authorities refused to announce Al Rawahi’s whereabouts and the reasons for his arrest. However, the authorities have not pressed any certain charges against Al Rawahi, until his father revealed, in a statement, that his son was transferred to Al Wathba prison in Abu Dhabi, in May, as he will appear before the Federal Supreme Court’s state security circuit on the 14th of September 2015.
Al Rawahi, noteworthy, has been previously arrested more than once. In February 2012, he was arrested upon publishing a tweet entitled “Finally, I’m Free” on his blog; expressing his disappointment over the conditions in Oman.
Once again, Internal Security Service arrested Al Rawahi on the 12th of July 2014, following his condemnation of Omani security bodies’ repressive practices on his blog. After one-month detention, he was released on 11 August, 2014.
What can you do?
- You can send appeals to end Muawiya Al Rawahi’s incarceration to:
President of the United Arab Emirates,
H.H Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Ministry of Presidential Affairs
Cornishe Road
Abu Dhabi, PO Box 280
The United Arab Emirates
Fax no.: (+971 2 622 2228)
Email: ihtimam@mopa.ae
- You can send appeals to end Muawiya Al Rawahi’s incarceration to:
Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi
Mohammed bin Zayed
Baynunah Street
Abu Dhabi, PO Box 124
The United Arab Emirates
Fax no.: (+971 2 668 6622)
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MBZNews
- You can send appeals to end Muawiya Al Rawahi’s incarceration to:
Federal National Council of the United Arab Emirates
Abu Dhabi, PO Box 836
Fax no.: (+971 2 681 2846)
Email: info@almajles.gov.ae
- You can send appeals to end Muawiya Al Rawahi’s incarceration to:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Tel no.: 24634395 – 24699500 (968) +
Muscat, PO Box 252
Email: inquiries@mofa.gov.om