A/HRC/16/53/Add.1 deleted and replaced with the symbol (-). The case began before the Council on 12 July 2009; • The court bench, presided over by the Deputy President of the State Council, decided on 17 February to set a date of 27 April 2010 for the delivery of a verdict; • The allegation in the letter that fatwas were issued threatening Mr. Hegazy’s life is belied by the statement made in June 2007 by the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Mr. Ali Gomaa, to the effect that conversion from Islam is a grave sin but should not be subject to temporal punishment. In addition, Mr. Abd al-Mu`ti Bayumi, a member of the Islamic Research Academy at Al-Azhar al-Sharif, together with other imams and academics at Al-Azhar, have confirmed that Islam respects freedom of belief and freedom of choice. Others have clarified particular aspects of the penalty for apostasy, stating that it is not applicable in all circumstances but rather when the act of apostasy is compounded by hostility and threats to Islam and society. Furthermore, the courts have dismissed several cases in which lawyers asked for the State to impose the penalty for apostasy on Muslims who had converted to another religion; • As an Egyptian national, Mohammed Hegazy enjoys a full range of rights and constitutional guarantees that enable him to use all available legal and judicial remedies. This may offer him some reassurance, should he feel that his life is in danger. Moreover, criminal proceedings may be brought against anyone who illtreats him or threatens his life, the lives of his family members or his home. Hegazy has not filed any reports indicating that he has gone into hiding because of threats that he has received. Moreover, he can leave the country at any time, using his current passport without having to wait for his personal details to be changed. 95. Furthermore, the Government of Egypt indicated that Article 46 of the Egyptian Constitution guarantees freedom of belief and freedom of worship. The Egyptian legal system does not prevent anyone from converting to any other religion, and the laws do not criminalize either the act of declaring oneself to be a non-believer or apostasy. Should any problem arise in connection with any aspect of this issue, the Egyptian courts will serve as an effective mechanism, offering remedies and protecting the rights and fundamental freedoms of citizens. In this connection, the Government of Egypt noted that, on more than one occasion, the administrative courts have played an important role in upholding human rights in general and religious freedoms in particular. A famous example was the judgement rendered by the Supreme Administrative Court on 9 February 2008 in favour of plaintiffs who had converted to Christianity. The judgement was upheld by the State Council and required the executive authorities to issue new identity papers to the plaintiffs. Another example is a judgement issued in favour of a person who converted to the Baha’i faith. Further to that judgement, an implementing regulation of the Ministry of the Interior was amended to allow for the inclusion of the symbol (-) in the space marked “religion” in identity papers. 96. The Government of Egypt noted that the case of Mohammed Hegazy was pending before the Egyptian courts, which will consider the matter in the light of the Constitution, Egyptian laws, established norms, existing case law and a number of humanitarian and practical considerations, and also in keeping with Egypt’s international legal obligations. (c) Observations by the Special Rapporteur 97. The Special Rapporteur is grateful that the Government of Egypt replied to the communication of 2 February 2010. He would like to refer to the Human Rights Committee’s general comment no. 22, in which the Committee states: “Article 18 distinguishes the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief from the freedom to 21