CAIRO, January 14 - RAPSI, Alexander Yelistratov. The Egyptian Supreme Court's board has declared that police officers have the right to have beards, the board's spokesperson told journalists.

In addition, the board has urged the country's administrative court to dismiss all appeals by the Interior Ministry aimed at firing bearded Egyptians from internal troops.

Previously, the country's administrative court checked another Interior Ministry ruling, which relegated several bearded police officers to the reserve, and obligated the ministry to reinstate these men in their former office.

Over the last few months, the Interior Ministry has filed dozens of appeals against court rulings of various instances in the country's largest cities which acknowledged police officers' rights to have beards.

The Interior Ministry motivated its position by internal service documents which obligate police officers to be neatly dressed and clean shaved.

Hundreds of bearded individuals who were dismissed for their "non-statutory" appearance have spent months seeking the restoration of their rights, and a national non-governmental organization of dismissed bearded police officers has even been set up.

The Supreme Administrative Court will meet on January 16, 2013 to give a final verdict on the issue.