Local media on Sunday quoted Lawyer Yaqoob al-Harthi as saying that the jailed activists began their hunger strike on Friday in Samayl central prison.
The prisoners complain against what they “claimed to be a delay in reviewing their appeal by the Supreme Court,” Harthi said.
He added that the relatives of the hunger strikers had submitted an appeal to the Supreme Court for a speedier hearing in their cases.
“The activists will only drink water until their demands are met,” Harthi told the Times of Oman newspaper.
The daily said the activists were accused of “unlawful assembly and violating the Cyber Law and are serving jail terms from six to 18 months.”
More than 50 bloggers and activists are being held in Samayl and are still awaiting the final judgment from the Primary Court.
The appeals court has so far upheld the jail terms of many activists who were tried on charges of defaming or using social media networks on the Internet to insult Omani ruler Sultan Qaboos.
Many people have also been tried for taking part in protests demanding political reforms in 2011.
Sultan Qaboos responded to the protests by announcing a cabinet reshuffle and the creation of 50,000 jobs to calm down the protesters, who said their rallies were aimed at ‘corrupt’ officials and not at the ruler.
