Egypt. The government continued to try citizens for unorthodox religious beliefs. The Government denied identity papers, birth certificates, and marriage licenses to members of the Baha'i community. There were numerous complaints of delayed church constructions. Christians are discriminated against in the public sector and in staff appointments to public universities. Christians were refused admission to Al-Azhar University, a publicly funded institution. Those accused of proselytizing have been harassed by police or arrested on charges of violating the penal code that prohibits the ridiculing or insulting of heavenly religions or inciting sectarian strife. The Government does not recognize conversions from Islam to Christianity or other religions. Mosque and church repairs are now subject to the same laws, but enforcement of the laws appears to be much stricter for churches than for mosques. Incidents of blocked or delayed permits vary, often depending on the attitude of local security officials and the governor toward the church. There are credible reports of government harassment or lack of cooperation with Christian families that attempt to regain custody of their daughters in cases of marriage between an underage Christian girl and a Muslim boy. There were credible reports that three of four Shi'a Muslims arrested in December and held without charge were tortured in detention. In January, the Government established a National Human Rights Council with a Coptic Christian as its head. The Court of Cassation, the country's highest appellate court, upheld the acquittal of 94 of 96 suspects who were charged with various offenses committed during the 2000 sectarian strife in al-Kush. The government failed to bring to justice those responsible for the murder of the 21 Christians killed in that conflict.

Georgia. Before the transfer of power in November, local police and security officials at times failed to protect nontraditional religious minority groups. The Georgian Orthodox church enjoys a tax-exempt status not available to other religious groups and lobbied Parliament and the government for laws that would grant it special status and restrict the activities of missionaries from nontraditional religions. Some members of nontraditional faiths were restricted in their worship by threats, intimidation, and the use of force by ultra-conservative Orthodox extremists whom the previous Government at times failed to control. On a number of occasions under the previous government, local police and security officials harassed non-Orthodox religious groups, particularly local and foreign missionaries, including members of Jehovah's Witnesses, Baptists, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, and Hare Krishnas. Because of the continuing violence against them, Jehovah's Witnesses have refrained from public meetings in favor of gathering in private homes. For six weeks, protesters blockaded a home in Tbilisi to prevent Russian-speaking Pentecostals from attending worship services in the home. The USG repeatedly asked officials in the previous government to arrest the leader of the violent movement against minority religious groups, a de-frocked Orthodox priest, Basili Mkalavishvili. The new government arrested him in March, which has improved the situation noticeably for minority religious groups.