to citizenship deprivation fails to comply with international standards; it is arbitrary, discriminatory, and consequently unlawful. Pursuant to Articles 20 and 21 of the Nationality Law, Omani citizenship shall be withdrawn if a person joins a group or party or organisation supporting principles or beliefs that harm the interests of Oman. Further, the Nationality Law provides that Omani citizenship shall be withdrawn if a person works for a foreign country in any capacity whatsoever, whether inside or outside Oman, and failed to leave such position at the request of the Omani Government within the specified deadline, or if they work for an enemy country that operates against the interests of Oman.50 49. Various cases have shown the wide variety of activities that are judged to be contrary to the state’s interests, which can result into statelessness if safeguards are not in place. For example, in May 2009 the former Vice President of Yemen, Ali Salem Al Beidh, who had been granted asylum in Oman in 1994, and subsequently gained Omani citizenship, had his citizenship revoked following an announcement that he planned to resume his political career.51 50. Further, the relevant authority has unduly broad discretionary power to arbitrarily deprive Omani nationality. For example, all public gatherings require official approval in advance and the authorities arrest and prosecute participants of unapproved gatherings. Some private gatherings are also prohibited under article 137 of the penal code, which prescribes a punishment of up to three years in prison and a fine for anyone who “participates in a private gathering including at least 10 individuals with a view to commit a riot or a breach of public order.”52 51. Omani citizens engaged in the organisation of pro-democracy protests in 2011 onwards, have been subjected to proxy measures that amount to stripping of their citizenship. According to the Omani Centre for Human Rights, Oman withdraws people’s identity documents such as passports and identity cards. Some have been without identity documents and unable to prove their nationality for the past ten years, thus rendering them vulnerable to arbitrary detention and numerous other rights violations. Many peaceful protesters were stripped of their right to legal personhood: having no right to travel or work, they were not eligible for benefits, and their reputations were destroyed through the publishing of their pictures in state media, along with well-coordinated defamatory remarks. These sorts of systematic social, cultural, and political deprivations have resulted in a form of civil death.53 52. Further, with Nationality Law Royal Decree No. 38/2014, the Minister of Interior has full power to withdraw nationality of Omani citizens without the related duty to inform the individual and without the obligation to provide the person concerned the right of legal recourse.54 There are an increasing number of undocumented persons, as human rights activists are being stripped of identity documents. This includes social media activists and activists that are in touch with human rights organisations. While this is not synonymous with deprivation of nationality, the consequences are similar, and are addressed in the Principles on Deprivation of Nationality as ‘proxy measures’ which should be subject to the same restrictions and safeguards as citizenship deprivation measures: States must not subject persons to proxy measures, which do not amount to 50 Nationality Law, Article 20. 51 Oman strips Yemeni dissident of citizenship for returning to politics, Gulf News, 22 May 2009 [United Arab Emirates]; Oman revokes citizenship of former Yemen Vice President, Yemen Post, 22 May 2009 52 https://ochroman.org/eng/2017/12/statelessness1/. 53 Ibid. 54 https://ochroman.org/eng/2019/08/statelessness-2/. 11