"A poet and a blogger were among 10 people arrested in Oman in the past two weeks
in what one source said was a police crackdown on dissent amid rising discontent
in the small U.S. ally sitting near key Gulf shipping routes. Activists said on Saturday that six people arrested on Friday night
included blogger Hassan Rukaishi, authors Hammoud al-Rashedi and Nabhan
al-Hanashi and poet Hamad al-Kharusi.
"The arrests come after the general prosecution threatened to take
appropriate legal action against defamatory writings or anyone making incitement
calls under the pretext of freedom of expression," the [Gulf Discussion Forum]
added." (thanks Basim)
