The Alexandria Administrative Court ruled Thursday that the Interior Ministry must reinstate bearded police officers to their posts after the Interior Ministry issued a decision in March that bearded officers should be taken off active duty.
This comes after a ruling the Alexandria court made in May that would allow police officers to wear beards, despite existing regulations that held otherwise. Since then, Alexandria and Cairo courts have disputed the issue.
The Alexandria Administrative Court said that officers should only be taken off active duty if they are found to commit an act of such gravity that it is necessary to immediately remove him without first following normal disciplinary procedures.
A major in Alexandria's Al-Hadra prison had filed a lawsuit demanding to reverse the interior minister’s decision to demote him due to his beard. The officer contended that growing his beard does not contradict rules regarding the general appearance of officers.
The Interior Ministry had decided that the officer was in violation of regulations regarding police officers’ appearance and uniforms, which hold that they may not grow beards or long hair.
Administrative judiciary circuits in Alexandria, Beheira and Tanta have all ruled against the Interior Ministry’s decision, while the Cairo Administrative Court upheld the ministry’s decision on Wednesday. The Supreme Administrative Court will review all of the verdicts and make a final ruling on the issue.
Edited translation from MENA
