On Religious Freedom in Egypt: Court Rules in Favor of Baha'is

The news is in. -gw

Egypt court upholds Baha'i plea in religious freedom cases
CAIRO 29 January 2008 (BWNS)

In a victory for religious freedom, a lower administrative court here today ruled in favor of two lawsuits that sought to resolve the government's contradictory policy on religious affiliation and identification papers.

The Court of Administrative Justice in Cairo upheld arguments made in two cases concerning Baha'is who have sought to restore their full citizenship rights by asking that they be allowed to leave the religious affiliation field blank on official documents.

"Given the degree to which issues of religious freedom stand at the heart of human rights issues in the Middle East, the world should cheer at the decision in these two cases today," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.

"The compromise offered by the Baha'is in these two cases opens the door to a way to reconcile a government policy that was clearly incompatible with international law -- as well as common sense," said Ms. Dugal.

"Our hope now is that the government will quickly implement the court's decision and allow Baha'is once again to enjoy the full rights of citizenship to which they are duly entitled," said Ms. Dugal.

The decisions today concerned two cases, both filed by Baha'is, over the issue of how they are to be identified on government documents. ...

http://news.bahai.org/story/595
http://www.bahai.org/persecution/egypt