A/57/274 possible violations of United States immigration laws. Those persons were chosen on the basis of a number of considerations, notably because they have a passport from a country identified as one from which a terrorist may be likely to have a passport, they entered in the United States after 1 January 2000 and they are male between the ages of 18 and 33 years. No enquiry should be made concerning the religious beliefs or practices of the persons interviewed. • There have been new reports of incidents of harassment in schools directed at persons perceived to be Arab Americans or of Middle Eastern or South Asian origin. For this reason, the Department of Education is taking extensive action to remind schools of their responsibilities to protect students from harassment and violence and to reach out to those who may be harassed to ensure that they know how to report harassment if it occurs. Georgia 35. On 21 February 2002, the Special Rapporteur sent a communication to the Government of Georgia regarding the following cases. During the last year and a half, there have reportedly been 80 violent attacks against Jehovah’s Witnesses. Six of them, which occurred from July 2001 to February 2002, are detailed in the communication sent by the Special Rapporteur, as is an attack against a warehouse of the Baptist Union. Allegedly, most of the violent actions were carried out by Orthodox extremists led by a priest, Vasili Mkalavishvili. Disrupting several religious meetings, the attackers reportedly beat those in attendance and seized or burned religious literature. 36. On 5 February 2002, the criminal trial of the violent priest Vasili Mkalavishvili and his main accomplice Petre (Gia) Ivanidze, due to begin in the Didube-Chugureti district court of Tbilisi, was reportedly postponed for the second time, as a large crowd of Mkalavishvili’s supporters armed with metal and wooden crosses packed the courtroom and intimidated those present. On 10 February 2002, the second most senior Orthodox bishop based in the town of Rustavi, Metropolitan Atanase, reportedly declared his support for Father Mkalavishvili in a television programme on religious violence and stated that all “sectarians” in Georgia should be “killed”. He named the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Baptists, the Anglicans 8 and the Pentecostals as among those who “have to be shot dead”. India 37. On 7 March 2002, the Special Rapporteur sent a communication to the Government of India concerning inter-religious violence in the State of Gujarat. On 27 February 2002, persons said to be Muslims reportedly torched four cars of a train travelling near the town of Godhra in which most of the passengers were allegedly activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) returning from the town of Ayodhya where they had reportedly been demanding that the Government build a temple on the ruins of a sixteenth century mosque destroyed nearly a decade ago by Hindu activists. Fifty-eight people were burned to death, among them 14 children, and 43 other people were injured. Since the attack on the train, mob burnings, shootings and other violence between Hindus and Muslims have reportedly spread through the State of Gujarat, killing approximately 544 people in six days, most of them Muslims. 38. On 15 May 2002, India sent a comprehensive reply containing a note on the inter-religious violence in the State of Gujarat and a note on constitutional provisions and special measures for the welfare of minorities. According to the first note, 693 persons were killed in the disturbances in Gujarat besides 193 killed in police firing. Further, 2,236 persons suffered injuries. Around 475 police personnel were also injured. In order to maintain law and order, the State Government deployed in full 64 companies of the State Reserve Police, 18 columns of the Army and 34 companies of the Central Paramilitary Force. So far, about 41,922 persons (around 32,600 Hindus and 9,300 Muslims) have been arrested and around 4,000 offences registered in the State. Among the other measures taken to restore confidence were visits by senior officials to riot-affected areas, activation of peace committees, posting of officers in sensitive places, adequate compensation to the victims of riots, and rebuilding of dargahs and mosques. Special protection measures were taken for returning hajj pilgrims. Massive relief and rehabilitation measures have been taken by the Government of the State of Gujarat, including death compensation, injury assistance, supply of essential commodities including food to relief camps, provision of medical officers, shelters and other facilities for victims.