A/HRC/28/68/Add.1 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). 163. It has come to the attention of the Special Rapporteur that the execution of 183 individuals has been called off. The Rapporteur welcomes the decision of the Government of Egypt to refrain from executing these persons. However, he also notes that, as of the drafting of this report, the execution of the 37 individuals has not yet taken place but neither has it been called off. The Rapporteur strongly urges the Government of Egypt to refrain from executing these 37 individuals, as well as to refrain from, and abolish, the practice of executions. (h) JUA 09/09/2014 Case No. EGY 12/2014 State Reply: 31/10/2014 Allegations of arbitrary detention of Mr. Khaled Al-Qazzaz and alleged failure to provide him with adequate medical treatment. 164. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of Egypt for its reply, dated 31 October 2014, to the present communication. The Rapporteur notes that Mr. Al-Qazzaz was released last month. 165. The Rapporteur takes note of the information provided by the Government that Mr. Khaled Al-Qazzaz’s case is currently on appeal and, concerning detention conditions, is receiving medical treatment, but regrets that the Government supplies little information concerning what Mr. Kahled Al-Qazzaz was charged with, raising concerns that his detention is arbitrary. 166. The Rapporteur finds that the Government, in its reply, does not sufficiently address the concerns raised in the initial communication, thereby not fully and expeditiously cooperating with the mandate issued by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 25/13. The State also fails 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). 167. In the Rapporteur’s interim report to the General Assembly of 5 August 2011 (A/66/268), the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment defined solitary confinement, in accordance with the Istanbul Statement on the Use and Effects of Solitary Confinement, as the physical and social isolation of individuals who are confined in their cells for 22 to 24 hours a day. He observed that while solitary confinement for short periods of time may be justified under certain circumstances, with adequate and effective safeguards in place, the use of prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement may never constitute a legitimate instrument of the State and it runs afoul of the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Furthermore, due to the prisoner’s lack of communication, as well as the lack of witnesses inside the prison, solitary confinement may also give rise to other acts of torture or ill-treatment. 168. In the absence of convincing 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 Egypt, in the detention of Mr. Khaled Al-Qazzaz, has violated his right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as provided by articles 1 and 16 of the CAT. With regards to the present case, the Special Rapporteur recalls paragraph 6 of General Comment No. 20 of the Human Rights Committee as well as article 7 of the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners (Adopted by the General Assembly by resolution 45/111 of 14 December 1990). 28