A/HRC/14/37 peaceful exercise of freedom of expression remained severely constrained, and referred to the case of four bloggers, two of whom had been held in administrative detention since 2008. 647. The Human Rights Information and Training Centre expressed the hope that the definition of torture in Egyptian law would be brought into line with the Convention against Torture, that Egypt would sign the Optional Protocol to the Convention and allow a visit by the Special Rapporteur on torture. It also hoped that the state of emergency would be lifted without delay and that no counter-terrorist law would be enacted, in spite of some recommendations to that effect, since the Penal Code was sufficient to fight terrorism. It further hoped that the application of the death sentence would be limited to the most serious crimes, with additional guarantees for a fair trial. With regard to freedom of religion, it urged the Government to issue a unified law as soon as possible and, with regard to freedom of opinion and expression, to repeal provisions concerning the imprisonment of journalists. 648. Verein Südwind Entwicklungspolitik, referring to the forthcoming election in Egypt, urged the Government to invite national and international independent observers. It also urged the adoption of a moratorium on the death penalty and consideration of its eventual abolition. It further urged that all reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women be withdrawn, that efforts to provide education and employment for women be intensified, and that the prevention of female genital mutilation be included in health planning. Finally, it recommended that Egypt release persons detained or imprisoned solely for exercising their freedom of expression on the Internet. 4. Concluding remarks of the State under review 649. The delegation welcomed the criticisms made and recognized that, although mistakes may have been committed, Egypt was working on reforms, whenever needed. The delegation noted inaccuracies in some statements made. 650. To reply to the query from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the delegation stated that partly accepted recommendations were accepted by Egypt, as explained in the clarification included in the addendum to the report. 651. In February 2010, Egypt had promised to put an end to the state of emergency as soon as the antiterrorism law was enacted, since it was impossible to prevent terrorism through normal laws. Exceptional rules that would be included in a state of emergency or in a special counter-terrorism law were needed, as was the case in the vast majority of countries. Egypt was committed to ending the state of emergency, but recognized that it had faced delays in enacting the antiterrorism law. 652. Egypt recalled the limitation of the scope of the new law of emergency, and reasserted that the state of emergency was temporary. 653. Regarding allegations of detention of persons based on the practice of their legitimate freedom of opinion on the Internet, Egypt stated that the names, which had been mentioned by delegations, referred to persons detained as a result of having committed crimes under the penal code. More than 30,000 blogs dealt with human rights in Egypt on a daily basis, without restrictions or consequences. 654. While being grateful to those who appreciated the achievements of Egypt, the delegation replied to those who alleged that Egypt had not done anything since February 2010 by providing examples. It recalled that Egypt had recently held a number of consultative meetings with civil society organizations. An ad hoc legal committee had been set up to review the definition of torture in line with that of the Convention against Torture. 146 GE.12-17781