E/CN.4/1992/52 page 17 6. St. John's Church in the city of Minya, Province of Minya; 7. Coptic church in the city of Rass Al-Barr, Province of Dumyat; 8. St. Mikhail's Church in the city of Sohag, Province of Sohag, has been closed since 1981." 31. On 15 October 1991 the Permanent Mission of Egypt transmitted the following response to the above-mentioned allegations. "We wish to refer to the provisions of the Egyptian Constitution and Egyptian law in this regard, since they govern the legal and legislative aspects of this matter as a whole. These provisions are detailed below: A. The Egyptian Constitution The Egyptian Constitution deals with matters relating to religion from two fundamental standpoints, namely the need to avoid discrimination among citizens on grounds of their religion or belief, and the guarantee by the State of freedom of belief and religious observance. These two principles are embodied in the following articles of the Egyptian Constitution: 1. Article 40: 'All citizens are equal before the law and in regard to their public rights and obligations, without any discrimination among them on grounds of sex, origin, language, religion or belief1. 2. Article 46: The State guarantees freedom of belief, as well as freedom to engage in religious observance'. B. The Egyptian Penal Code The Egyptian Penal Code protects the principle of freedom of belief and religious observance, as set forth in the Egyptian Constitution, by designating as a criminal offence all acts which prejudice or infringe that principle. 1. Acts which are designated as criminal offences under the terms of article 98 (f) of the Penal Code (an article which was inserted ' therein pursuant to Act No. 29 of 1982) 'A penalty of imprisonment for a period of not less than six months and not more than five years, or a fine of not less than LE 500 and not more than LE 1,000, shall be imposed on any person who exploits religion in order to promote or advocate extremist ideologies by word of mouth, in writing or in any other manner with a view to stirring up sedition, disparaging or belittling any divinely-revealed religion or its adherents, or prejudicing national unity or social harmony.'