The key facts

  • Sultan Haitham's decree introduces imprisonment from three months to three years for insulting Oman's anthem
  • The penalty is equated with the already existing sanction for insulting the flag or coat of arms
  • The reasons for adopting the decree were not publicly stated

New sultan's decree

Sultan of Oman Haitham has issued a decree under which insulting the national anthem 'Salute to the Sultan' is punishable by imprisonment for a term of three months to three years. The decree was published on Sunday, as reported by The National.

What exactly is prohibited

The provision applies to anyone who 'insults the anthem verbally, in writing, through gestures, by distorting it, or by committing any other act expressing hatred or contempt.' The same penalty — up to three years — already applied to those who lower or destroy the flag of Oman or express 'hatred or contempt' toward the flag or the coat of arms. Thus, the new decree brings liability for the anthem into line with the previously existing protection of state symbols. The reasons for the tightening were not explained in the decree.

Context: similar laws in other countries

As The National notes, Oman is not the first country to criminalize disrespect toward the anthem: in France, fines for whistling 'La Marseillaise' have been in force since 2003, and Hong Kong in 2020 introduced prison terms of up to three years for insulting the PRC anthem 'March of the Volunteers' — the first actual sentence was handed down in 2023 to a man who mixed the anthem with a protest song. The Omani anthem itself was created in 1932, rewritten in 1970 after Sultan Qaboos came to power, and again in 2020, when Sultan Haitham inherited the throne.