A/HRC/25/60/Add.2 Sudan do not specify what is covered by immoral or indecent dress, giving the Public Order Police broad discretion to judge whether a person has acted in “an indecent manner, or a manner contrary to public morality” or “wears an indecent, or immoral dress, which causes annoyance to public feelings.” Reportedly Ms. Osman Hamed’s court case was postponed in order to give the Attorney General time to consider a request made by her defense to drop all charges. At the time of the communication, the prosecution was reportedly still evaluating how to proceed. It was further reported that this is not an isolated event, and that public flogging of women is a continuing practice in the country. In this context, the Special Rapporteur reiterates that each Government has the obligation to ensure equality between men and women in the enjoyment of all civil and political rights, including the right not to be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. This right is set forth inter alia in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Government of Sudan is a party. Furthermore, both the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture have called for the abolition of judicial corporal punishment, and the Human Rights Committee stated that the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment must extend to corporal punishment, including excessive chastisement ordered as punishment for a crime (see paragraph 5 of General Comment No. 20 (1992). (f) UA 29/11/2013 Case No. SDN 9/2013 State reply: None to date Alleged arrest and risk of corporal punishment of human rights activists in Port Sudan. 143. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of the Republic of Sudan has not responded to this communication, thereby failing to cooperate with the mandate issued by the Human Rights Council. The communication referred to the arrest and prosecution of lawyer and human rights activist Ms. Najlaa Mohammed Ali, and human rights activist Mr. Amin Senada, allegedly accused of violating Article 152 of Sudan’s Criminal Code while riding together in a vehicle in Port Sudan. If convicted, Ms. Ali and Mr. Senada could be subjected to flogging with up to 40 lashes. The Special Rapporteur stresses the Government’s obligation to protect the right to physical and mental integrity of all persons, set forth inter alia in the UDHR, the ICCPR and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). Additionally, the Special Rapporteur reiterates that paragraph 7(a) of resolution 8/8 of the Human Rights Council and paragraph 5 of General Comment No. 20 (1992) of the Human Rights Committee declare that corporal punishment can amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or even to torture. The Special Rapporteur concluded in his report to the 60 th session of the General Assembly, as well as his report to the seventh session of the Human Rights Council, that corporal punishment violates the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and therefore cannot be invoked by states even under the most exceptional circumstances. The Special Rapporteur further reminds the Government that paragraph 1 of the Human Rights Council Resolution 16/23 “Condemns all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including through intimidation, which are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever and can thus never be justified, and calls upon all States to implement fully the absolute and non-derogable prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” The Special Rapporteur calls on the Government to take all necessary measures to protect the right to physical and mental integrity of Ms. Ali and Mr. Senada, and to ensure that they are not subjected to corporal punishment. Sweden (a) 104 JUA 01/02/2013 Case No. SWE 1/2013 State reply: 08/02/2013, 12/04/2013 Alleged imminent deportation of Abdullah Barahouei, a human rights defender and blogger, to the Islamic Republic of Iran.