Call to lift immunity of Oman Shura member

Muscat: The Public Prosecution has asked the Oman’s elected Shura Council to lift the immunity of one of its members after an Omani citizen filed a case against him.

The citizen alleged that the Shura member had insulted him in front of tribal leaders in one of the country’s provinces.

The national told Atheer news site that some top officials in the country tried to intervene and convince him to drop the case but he refused to back down.

“I filed the cases with the Public Prosecution to get my right,” he said.

On his part, the Shura member said that what the national has alleged is groundless, stressing that he will take his right if he is right, without giving further details.

Members of the Shura Council enjoy parliamentary immunity in accordance with an amendment promulgated by Royal Decree No. 99 in 2011, under which a member can be detained if he or she is present at the scene of a crime without the need for authorisation from the council’s members. Otherwise, immunity can only be lifted if two-thirds of the council’s members vote for it. If the council is not in session, its chairman has the authority to lift a member’s immunity.