A/HRC/28/68/Add.1 instruments, including article 6(5) of ICCPR and 37 (a) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). 243. As observed by the Special Rapporteur in his 2012-report to the General Assembly (A/67/279), there is evidence of an evolving standard within international bodies and a robust State practice to frame the debate about the legality of the death penalty within the context of the fundamental concepts of human dignity and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This evolving standard, along with the resulting illegality of the death penalty under such prohibition, is developing into a norm of customary law, if it has not already done so (para. 74). The Special Rapporteur calls upon all States to reconsider whether the use of the death penalty per se respects the inherent dignity of the human person, causes severe mental and physical pain or suffering and constitutes a violation of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (para. 79). 244. In the absence of information to the contrary, the Rapporteur concludes that there is substance in the allegations presented in the initial communication, reiterated above, and thus, that the Government of Iran, by permitting Messrs. Hamed Ahmadi, Shahram Ahmadi, Alam Barmashti, Jahangir Dehghani, Jamshid Dehghani, Seyed Shaho Ebrahimi, Varia Ghaderifard, Mohammad Gharibi, Seyed Abdol Hadi Hosseini, Farzad Honarjo, Mohammad Keyvan Karimi, Taleb Maleki, Kamal Molaee, Pouria Mohammadi, Keyvan Momenifard, Sedigh Mohammadi, Seyed Jamal Mousavi, Teymour Naderizadeh, Farshid Naseri, Ahmad Nasiri, Borzan Nasrollahzadeh, Idris Nemati, Omid Peyvand, Bahman Rahimi, Mokhtar Rahimi, Mohammadyavar Rahimi, Abdorahman Sangani, Amjad Salehi, Behrouz Shahnazari, Arash Sharifi, Kaveh Sharifi, Farzad Shahnazari, and Kaveh Veysi, to be physically abused, held in solitary confinement, and sentenced to death without due process of law, has violated their right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as provided by articles 1 and 16 of the CAT. The Rapporteur urges the government of Iran to commute all of their death sentences, to remove them from solitary confinement, and to investigate and prosecute those State agents who may be responsible for their torture. (j) JUA 21/07/2014 Case No. IRN 14/2014 State Reply: None to date Allegations concerning the situation of journalists and human rights activists who have been arrested, imprisoned, denied medical assistance, and/or charged in the months of June and July 2014, for exercising their rights to freedom of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association. 245. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of Iran has not replied to the present communication, thereby failing to cooperate with the mandate issued by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 25/13, and to comply with its obligation, under international customary law, to investigate, prosecute and punish all acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as codified, inter alia, in the Convention against Torture (CAT). 246. In the absence of information to the contrary, the Rapporteur concludes that there is substance in the allegations presented in the initial communication, reiterated above, and thus, that the alleged beating of Mr. Mehdi Khazali and the sentencing to lashes of Mr. Mehdi Khazali and Ms. Marzieh Rasouli violate the prohibition of torture under article 7 of the ICCPR, and reiterated in paragraph 1 of Human Rights Council Resolution 16/23. This is especially concerning in light of the allegation that these sentences were ordered as punishment for the prisoners’ exercise of free expression and peaceful protest. By permitting the sentencing to lashes of Mr. Mehdi Khazali and Ms. Marzieh Rasouli, the Government of Iran has violated their right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as provided by articles 1 and 16 of the CAT. 42