A/HRC/7/10/Add.1 page 38 paras. 38-63). A refusal to perform military service in the refugee’s country of origin may give rise to a well-founded fear of persecution and relevant UNHCR documents (see ibid., para. 58) provide that refugee status may be established if the refusal to serve is based on genuine political, religious or moral convictions or valid reasons of conscience. In conscientious objector cases, a law purporting to be of general application in the country of origin may be persecutory where it impacts differently on particular groups, where it is applied in a discriminatory manner or where the punishment is excessive or disproportionately severe or where it cannot reasonably be expected to be performed by the individual because of his or her genuine beliefs or religious convictions. Malaysia Urgent appeal sent on 22 December 2005 155. The Special Rapporteur brought to the attention of the Government information she had received regarding Mr. Everest Moorthy. According to the allegation received, Mr. Moorthy is scheduled to be buried on 23 December 2005 according to Islamic religious rites because he allegedly converted to Islam a few weeks before he died. However, it is also reported that the family of the deceased is opposing such funerals because they contest the genuineness of the conversion. They, inter alia, claim that they were not informed of the conversion by the deceased himself although they had been continually in contact with him before he died. Moreover, the conversion of Mr. Moorthy did allegedly not take place under the usual procedure. It is also reported that while the case has been brought to the High Court of Malaysia to determine the genuineness of the conversion, its first hearing would only take place on 29 December 2005 without having stayed the funerals. Response from the Government dated 16 March 2007 156. The Government declared that the facts concerning Mr. Moorthy’s death were as follows. Mr. Moorthy was a member of the Malaysian Army, Special Forces. Following an accident at the Sungai Udang Army Camp in 1998, he became paralyzed from the waist down, confining him to a wheelchair. He became interested in Islam and for months, he learned about the religion from officers from the Religious Corp at the Kementah Camp. At least five army officers visited Mr. Moorthy regularly at the Kementah Camp to teach him about the religion of Islam. 157. On 11 October 2004, Mr. Moorthy made an official application to Captain Shukri bin Haji Yahya, Religious Army Officer of the Kementah Camp, to convert him to Islam. However, Mr. Moorthy had made an explicit request that his conversion be kept a secret from his wife and family members. Already for several months before the application date, Mr. Moorthy had learned and been exposed to the religion of Islam. He had also uttered the two clauses of the Affirmation of Faith (Syahadah) prior to the official application to verify the conversion. After the verification of his conversion by the Religious Army Officer of the Kementah Camp, Mr. Moorthy attended the mosque a few times to perform his duties and obligations as a Muslim. Nevertheless, the registration of Mr. Moorthy’s conversion to Islam with Maijis Agama Islam Wilayah Perseketuan (MAIWP), a formal requirement under the law, had to be postponed due to his condition. He was only brought to the office of the registrar of Muallafs, MAIWP on 8 March 2005. After interviewing Mr. Moorthy, the Deputy Director of the Muallaf Unit, MAIWP, was satisfied that the requirements of section 85 of the Administration of Islamic Law had been