E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.1 Page 72 332. In March 2004, Mr. Muhammad al-Sahimi, a former Arabic teacher in middle and high school, was banned from teaching and sentenced to three years imprisonment and to 300 lashes for having expressed his views in class. The court had found him guilty of un-Islamic, sexual, social and religious practices. Charges against him had mainly been based on discussions he led on the varying concepts of love in poetry. Religion teachers at his schools had interpreted his words as constituting apostasy. 333. The Special Rapporteurs requested the Government to indicate on what legal basis Mr. Al-Harbi and Mr. Muhammad al-Sahimi had been sentenced and subjected to criminal sanctions, and how this legal basis was compatible with international norms and standards on the rights and freedoms provided for in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They also wanted to know on what legal bas is Mr. AlHarbi’s lawyer was not recognized by the Court, and how this legal basis was compatible with international norms and standards on the right to appropriate legal assistance during a trial. Observations 334. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that the Government has not responded to her urgent appeals. She would like to draw the Government’s attention to paragraph 9 of General Comment 22 of the Human Rights Committee which provides that “the fact that a religion is recognized as a state religion or that it is established as official or traditional or that its followers comprise the majority of the population, shall not result in any impairment of the enjoyment of any of the rights under the Covenant, including articles 18 or 27, nor in any discrimination against adherents to other religions or non-believers. In particular, certain measures discriminating against the latter […] are not in accordance with the prohibition of discrimination based on religion or belief and the guarantee of equal protection under article 26. The measures contemplated by article 20, paragraph 2 of the Covenant constitute important safeguards against the infringement of the rights of religious minorities and other religious groups to exercise the rights guaranteed by articles 18 and 27, and against acts of violence or persecution directed towards those groups.” Paragraph 10 provides that: “If a set of beliefs is treated as official ideology in constitutions, statues, proclamations of ruling parties etc. or in actual practice, this shall not result in any impairment of the freedoms under article 18 or any other rights recognized under the Covenant nor in any discrimination against persons who do not accept the official ideology or who oppose it.” 335. The Special Rapporteur is concerned about the measures taken against those individuals or groups who profess a different religion to the official religious doctrine and urges the Government to take steps to ensure that freedom of religion does not make adherence to a religion other than the State religion impossible. Serbia and Montenegro Response from the Government dated 14 February 2005 to a communication sent on 27 October 2004 (See E/CN.4/2005/61/Add. 1, at paragraph 210)