Oman Web trial raises censorship concerns

By Andrew Hammond

MUSCAT (Reuters) - The trial in Oman of a Web moderator over criticism of the government in a popular Internet forum has led to calls for the Gulf Arab state to ease its grip on the media and improve business transparency.

Ali al-Zuwaidy was detained for 11 days earlier this year for questioning over an anonymous post suggesting corruption in state telecom firm Omantel and for publishing a cabinet directive putting an end to live radio phone-ins.

A verdict in Zuwaidy's trial is due on April 21.

It is the latest in a series of legal cases concerning Internet blogs, forums and websites in the Arab world, where rights groups say governments are clamping down. The Internet has become a popular arena for discussion partly because of restraint observed in traditional media.

Oman, a country of 3.3 million people on the tip of the Arabian peninsula, has one of the most closed media and political cultures in the Gulf region, analysts say.

"We view this case as threatening freedom of expression in the country and we think it is not in the interest of the state's development efforts," said Said al-Hashemi, a member of the Omani Writers Association which has provided legal aid for Zuwaidy, a writer and civil aviation administrator.

"There is corruption in some institutions. If we don't have the right to criticize then there is a problem," Hashemi said, adding that three journalists were detained briefly last year over reports they published in Omani papers.

Ministry of Information officials declined to comment when contacted by telephone.