VZCZCXYZ0010
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #0157 0291547
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 291547Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8004
INFO RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS CAIRO 000157 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
NSC STAFF FOR PASCUAL, STATE DRL/IRF FOR COFSKY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIRF PHUM PGOV EG
SUBJECT: COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF BAHA'IS 
 
REF: 06 CAIRO 7164 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
 ¶1. (SBU)  On January 29, the Cairo Administrative Court 
ruled in two cases brought by members of Egypt's small Baha'i 
religious community that the government may issue official 
identification documents without listing the holder's 
religion on the document. (Note:  Under current practice, the 
government requires that identification documents identify 
all Egyptian citizens as members of one of the three 
"heavenly" faiths - Islam, Judaism or Christianity. End 
note).  The government may appeal the decision to the Supreme 
Administrative Court.  As a general rule, the government may 
not request a stay of an administrative court decision 
pending an appeal.  According to the lawyer for the 
plaintiffs, Hossam Bahgat (please protect) of the NGO the 
Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, the plaintiffs will 
test the ruling immediately by applying for identification 
documents. 
 
¶2. (U)  In December 2006, the Supreme Administrative Court 
overturned a lower court ruling permitting Baha'is to list 
their religious affiliation as "Baha'i" on national 
identification cards (reftel).  The plaintiffs in the current 
case, a father seeking birth certificates for his children 
and a Baha'i student seeking a national identification card, 
did not ask the government to identify them as Baha'is, but 
only that the government leave the block for religious 
affiliation blank or list their religion as "other." The 
plaintiffs and their lawyer argued that this was a compromise 
solution, an argument the court apparently accepted. 
 
¶3. (SBU)  Comment:  The January 29 ruling is welcome for 
Baha'is in Egypt who have long struggled with Egypt's 
restrictive national identification policy. Others 
experiencing difficulty obtaining identification documents, 
such as converts to Christianity, may also attempt to take 
advantage of this ruling.  The key question now is whether 
the government will appeal, and, if so, what the final 
verdict will be. 
JONES