A/HRC/25/60/Add.2 prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” In addition, paragraph 7b of Human Rights Council Resolution 16/23 requires the competent authorities to undertake a prompt and impartial investigation wherever there are reasonable grounds to believe that torture has been committed, and article 7 of the Convention Against Torture (CAT) requires State parties to prosecute suspected perpetrators of torture. With regard to the alleged denial of medical care to Mr. Arnous and Mr. Matouk, Rule 22(2) of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners provides that, “(s)ick prisoners who require specialist treatment shall be transferred to specialized institutions or to civil hospitals. Where hospital facilities are provided in an institution, their equipment, furnishings and pharmaceutical supplies shall be proper for the medical care and treatment of sick prisoners, and there shall be a staff of suitable trained officers. Furthermore, Rule 25(1) provides that, “(t)he medical officer shall have the care of the physical and mental health of the prisoners and should daily see all sick prisoners, all who complain of illness, and any prisoner to whom his attention is specially directed.” The Special Rapporteur calls on the Government to end the incommunicado or unacknowledged detention of these persons and undertake a prompt and independent investigation of the circumstances. as well as of the denial of medical treatment of Mr. Khalil Matouk, leading to prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators; and to provide full redress to the victims. (c) UA 28/06/2013 Case No. SYR 3/2013 State Reply: None to dateAlleged incommunicado detention, torture and ill- treatment of Messrs. Mazen Darwish, Hussayn Gharir, Hani Zitani, Abdelrahman Alhamade and Mansour Al-Omari, as well as acts of reprisal against, and the alleged continued incommunicado detention and deteriorating health of Mr. Khalil Matouk and Mr. Mohammed Thatha. 149. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic has not responded to this communication, thereby failing to cooperate with the mandate issued by the Human Rights Council. The communication referred to the alleged incommunicado detention, torture and ill-treatment of Messrs. Mazen Darwish, Hussayn Gharir, Hani Zitani, Abdelrahman Alhamade and Mansour Al-Omari, as well as acts of reprisal against, and the alleged continued incommunicado detention and deteriorating health of, Mr. Khalil Matouk and Mr. Mohammed Thatha. Mr. Mazen Darwish was the subject of a previous communication (SYR 5/2012, 8 May 2012), regarding his alleged prolonged incommunicado detention, torture and ill-treatment. A reply to this communication is still awaited from the Syrian Arab Republic. Mr. Khalil Matouk was the subject of several previous communications (the most recent being SYR 2/2013, 12 May 2013) regarding his alleged incommunicado detention and being denied adequate medical treatment despite reportedly suffering from a serious lung condition. A reply to this communication is still awaited from the Syrian Arab Republic. In the case of both Mr. Mazen Darwish and Mr. Khalil Matouk, new information was received that indicated that the concerns raised in previous communications have not been duly addressed. It was reported that Messrs. Darwish, Gharir, Zitani, Alhamade and Al-Omari spent over nine months in incommunicado detention, during which time the individuals were allegedly subjected to practices amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. It was further reported that detention conditions were squalid and that the detainees were denied access to medication, leading them to contract several diseases. Sources informed that on 27 February 2013, charges of “promoting terrorist acts” were issued against the five human rights defenders for work conducted under the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression’s work in defense of human rights. It was reported that Mr. Matouk continues to be held in incommunicado detention and that Mr. Mohammad Thatha, a colleague of Mr. Matouk who was arrested at the same time as Mr. Matouk, allegedly remains detained as well. In the absence of information from the Government, the Special Rapporteur concludes that the aforementioned individuals have been subjected to prolonged incommunicado detention, torture and ill-treatment, and suffer physical and psychological injury. In this 109