For example, Freedom House has routinely rated the country “Not Free” and an official of Human Rights Watch, in a December 2012 overview of Oman and “five other smaller Gulf states,” stated: “Human rights conditions...are quite poor overall...There is little respect for core civil and political rights such as freedom of expression, assembly and association. Peaceful dissent typically faces harsh repression. The administration of justice is highly personalised, with limited due process protections, especially in political and security-related cases.” A 2012 report by Bertelsmann Stiftung declared that while “Oman’s legal code theoretically protects civil liberties and personal freedoms, both are regularly ignored by the regime. Oman, therefore, cannot be considered free.”