A/56/253 to be a sect and confirming the need to punish as apostates Baha’is who violated the laws of Islam. As of 9 March 2001, nine Baha’is in the Sohag region were still in prison. Apparently the detainees have not been formally charged, and their detention was reportedly extended on several occasions (60 days, 15 days, 45 days and one month). Arrests of Baha’is in Ismailiya and Shibin el-Kom have also been reported, and nine Baha’is are said to have been freed. 36. On 27 January 2001, writer and editor Salah al-Din Muhsin was allegedly sentenced by a tribunal, under article 98(f) of the Penal Code, for having denigrated revealed religions and threatened social peace. His publications reflecting his views on society and on religious issues were allegedly banned. In addition, Professor Saadeddine Ibrahim was reportedly charged with defamation against Egypt for writing a critical report on the riots between Muslims and Copts in El-Kosheh. United Arab Emirates 37. In October 2001, the local authorities in Dubai allegedly stopped the Hindu funeral of an Indian citizen, Hiro Jashanmal Jhangiani, and transferred his body to the morgue. Ignoring a court decision ordering that the body be returned to the son of the deceased, they allegedly proceeded to bury it in a Muslim cemetery. Georgia 38. On 18 December 2000, in Tbilisi, Father Vassili Mkalashvili (who had been excommunicated by the Georgian Orthodox Church), along with a group of Orthodox extremists, allegedly tried to physically prevent the construction of a Pentecostal establishment, claiming that it was a house of Satanists. On 22 January 2001, the same individuals allegedly broke into the Office of the Ombudsman during a press conference that had been called to collect petitions on violence against religious minorities in Georgia. The group allegedly stole 12 of the 14 volumes of petitions. On the same day, this group of extremists allegedly interrupted a meeting of Jehovah’s Witnesses and beat those present. On 6 March 2001, on the order of the Georgian Orthodox Patriarchate, four priests allegedly mobilized a crowd of 150 people against the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Sachkere. The mayor and the local police had been warned of the violence but allegedly refused to intervene. On 13 May 2001, in the Mukhiani region, a crowd led by Bassilist extremists are said to have violently attacked 60 Jehovah’s Witnesses, including women, during a religious service being held in a private apartment. The police allegedly intervened and arrested three Bassilists, who were later released. In May 2001, Father Vassili Mkalashvili reportedly announced plans for pogroms against Jehovah’s Witnesses on Kavkasia television. India 39. On 26 November 2000, Hindu militants belonging to the Hindu Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) parties allegedly occupied by force the Evangelical Church of India in Chindia, Surat district, Gujarat. They reportedly destroyed the church cross in order to put up Hindu idols. On the same day, Hindu extremists allegedly attacked the Sainte Marie convent in Meerut district, Uttar Pradesh, and a number of evangelists in Kolar, Karnataka. On 27 November 2000, Hindu extremists allegedly struck Father C. Alphonse in the Plipipura church. On 29 November 2000, Hindu extremists are said to have 11