E/CN.4/2003/66/Add.1 page 10 3. The law 40. According to information gathered from the authorities, there is no specific law governing freedom to worship. There are, however, laws that deal with religion or affect freedom of religion or belief. As the 1984 Family Code is the only piece of legislation derived from the Islamic Shariah, this will be looked at in detail later. (a) The Penal Code 41. Under article 87 bis, any act intended to affect State security, territorial integrity, institutional stability or operation, and any act intended in part to hinder the actions of the public authorities or the free exercise of religious observance or public liberties, is regarded as a terrorist act. Anyone who creates, founds, organizes or directs any association, body, group or organization to such a purpose is subject to life imprisonment (art. 87 bis 3). Likewise, anyone who makes apology for, encourages or finances the above acts by any means is subject to 5 to 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine. Article 87 bis 10 renders anyone who preaches attempts to preach in a mosque or other public place devoted to prayer without being appointed, approved or authorized to do so by the public authorities liable to a one-to three-year term of imprisonment and a fine. A three- to five-year term of imprisonment and a fine await anyone who, by preaching or through any other action, engages in activity counter to the noble mission of the mosque or likely adversely to affect social cohesiveness or to make apology for or promote the acts covered in the section (art. 87 bis 11). Article 144 bis 2 renders liable to three to five years’ imprisonment and/or a fine anyone who insults the Prophet and God’s messengers or denigrates Islamic dogma or precepts in writing, in a drawing, in oral statements or by any other means. Articles 150 and 160 ter protect burial grounds and places of worship, making encroachments upon them punishable by terms of imprisonment of six months to two years and one to five years respectively. Article 160 renders liable to imprisonment of 5 to 10 years anyone who voluntarily and publicly destroys, mutilates, degrades or profanes the holy book. Lastly, article 298 bis stipulates that any slur on one or more individuals belonging, inter alia, to a particular religion is punishable by five days’ to six months’ imprisonment and/or a fine. (b) The Political Parties Act of 6 March 1997 42. In everything they do, political parties are required to avoid making use of the fundamental components of the national identity - Islam, Arabism and Amazighitism - for partisan propaganda ends and to reject violence and coercion as means of expression (art 3). No political party may be established or base its actions on grounds and/or objectives which entail sectarian practices or practices contrary to the values of Islamic morals (art. 5). (c) The Information Act of 3 April 1990 43. According to article 26 of this Act, periodicals and specialist national or foreign publications, whatever their nature and target audience, must contain no illustration, account, report or insert contrary to Islamic morals, national values or human rights or make apology for racism, fanaticism or treason. Article 77 also specifies that anyone who offends against Islam or the other divinely revealed religions in writing or by means of sound, pictures, drawings or any other direct or indirect means is liable to six months’ to three years’ imprisonment and/or a fine.