Appeal of Muscat newspaper verdict postponed

Muscat: The hearing into the appeal of Azzamaan newspaper against the Primary Court's verdict against the Justice Minister and the Undersecretary of the Justice Ministry has been put off to October 22, according to Oman News Agency.

The Court of Appeal was to hear an appeal filed by the newspaper, its editor, reporter and an employee of the Justice Ministry on October 15. But it has now been put off by a week as the hearing coincided with the Majlis Shura election, which is a public holiday.

The Court of Appeal is the second degree of litigation. The primary court judgment is not final. The Court of Appeal has the authority to affirm or reverse the judgment in favour of the appellants. The Court of Appeal comprising three judges will hear the claim with a jury panel that is different from the primary court panel as per the applicable laws and legislations in the Sultanate and in a way that secures the rights of all parties before the Court.

The first session of this case started in mid August at the Primary Court which issued its judgment on Wednesday and ordered the closure of Azzmaan newspaper for one month and five months imprisonment for the editor-in-chief, the editor and the employee of the Justice Ministry.