Tourists fined after turtle disturbance footage sparks outrage in Oman

An Omani court has sentenced two Ukrainian tourists to one-month jail terms, suspended, and fined each RO100 after they were convicted of disturbing nesting sea turtles at the Ras Al Hadd Turtle Reserve.

The Criminal Circuit of the Court of First Instance in Sur convicted the two tourists, identified as Vadim and Olena, following an investigation into their conduct at the protected reserve in South Al Sharqiyah Governorate, the Public Prosecution said.

According to investigators, the tourists approached and handled sea turtles, including climbing onto the shells of adult turtles and touching smaller turtles and hatchlings as they moved along the beach.

The pair also filmed their actions and posted the footage on Vadim’s Instagram account. The video was later removed but sparked widespread criticism after it appeared to show the tourists sitting on a sea turtle and handling hatchlings.

The court imposed a RO100 fine on each defendant for disturbing nesting turtles. It also handed each a one-month prison sentence for producing and publishing content deemed prejudicial to public order.

The court ordered the penalties to be combined and suspended enforcement of the custodial sentences. It also ordered the judgment to be published.

The ruling follows an announcement by Oman’s Environment Authority on September 28 that legal proceedings had been launched after footage showing the disturbance of sea turtles at Ras Al Hadd circulated online.

The authority has urged visitors to respect nesting turtles and avoid touching, approaching or otherwise disturbing them, particularly at protected nesting sites.

The Public Prosecution also called on the public to comply with laws protecting wildlife and nature reserves and to exercise responsibility when producing and sharing content on social media.