MUSCAT, 26 April 2005 — A top court in Muscat said yesterday it will deliver its verdict on May 2 in the case of 31 Omani Islamists accused of membership of a banned organization and plotting to overthrow the government.
“The verdict will be delivered at a session next Monday,” said Judge Hilal bin Hamad Busaidi, who heads the state security court, after he and three other judges spent the day hearing the defense arguments.
Seven lawyers for the group pleaded their clients’ innocence, saying they had merely sought to promote the teachings of the Ibadi sect in the face of “external currents”.
They said their clients’ possession of weapons was in keeping with Omani norms and that the worst they can be accused of is holding firearms without a license.
The trial opened a week ago, with the accused, who were arrested in January, appearing before the State Security Court in batches over three consecutive days.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charge of plotting to overthrow the regime by force, although some of them expressed “regret” and asked Sultan Qaboos to pardon them.
Ahead of yesterday’s session, police showed reporters some of the weapons seized with the accused, including around 40 Kalashnikov rifles, nine pistols and a large quantity of ammunition.
A lawyer with one of the firms defending the suspects earlier said it was not clear when a verdict would be delivered, but added that those convicted would have the right to appeal to the Supreme Court and then to the Omani ruler. The lawyer said the prosecution had sought the death penalty for all suspects charged with subversion, but he doubted the sentence would be imposed.
But the prosecutor at yesterday’s hearing asked the judge to rule as his court sees fit.
Unconfirmed reports at the time of the arrests said the group was suspected of planning attacks on the Muscat festival, a month-long trade and cultural event spanning part of January and February, as well as commercial centers and oil installations.
