An Oman court on Monday sentenced 31 Islamists to up to 20 years in jail for plotting to overthrow the pro-Western government of the Gulf Arab state, witnesses said. They said six men were sentenced to 20 years while 24 were jailed for periods of seven to 10 years. One received a one-year sentence. Human rights activist Abdullah Alryami said the men were also convicted of forming an illegal underground group, planning to oust the government of Sultan Qaboos by force, possession and sale of weapons and holding meetings to recruit members.
The group includes preachers, Islamic scholars, university professors and government figures.
The government had accused the men of trying to set up clerical rule in Oman.
Witnesses at the hearings said the group denied planning to overthrow the government and insisted that their aim was to strengthen the Ibadi Muslim sect, to which Oman's ruler Sultan Qaboos and the majority of Omanis belong.
The imamate, a centuries-old Ibadi tradition of politico-religious leadership by an imam, was abolished in Oman in 1959. The men were arrested in December as part of an unprecedented crackdown on Islamists in Oman.
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