A/HRC/28/68/Add.1 the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to refrain from executing him, as well as to refrain from and abolish the practice of executions. (n) JUA 25/11/2014 Case No. IRN 28/2014 State Reply: None to date Allegations of physical and psychological torture and ill-treatment, including prolonged solitary confinement, the denial of adequate medical care, and introduction of new charges against Dr. Mohammad Ali Taheri, the founder of a spiritual group called Erfan-e-Halgheh (interuniversalism), and the re-arrest of Mr. Mohammad Reza Pourshajari, a blogger in Iran. 260. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of the Islamic Republic 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). 261. In his 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. 262. Being aware of the arbitrary nature of any effort to establish a moment in time when an already harsh regime becomes prolonged and therefore unacceptable, the Special Rapporteur defined that prolonged solitary confinement is any period of solitary confinement in excess of 15 days (A/66/268) under conditions of total isolation. This definition was based on the large majority of scientific studies which indicate that after 15 days of isolation harmful psychological effects often manifest and may even become irreversible. For solitary confinement that includes some mitigating factors, such as access to reading and writing materials, radio or television, the term of legitimate use of isolation may exceed 15 days but would still have to be counted in days, not weeks or months or years. The Special Rapporteur recalls that when used indefinitely or for long periods, solitary confinement amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment or even torture, because it may cause severe mental and physical pain or suffering, a point which has been reiterated in paragraph 28 of the General Assembly resolution 68/156. 263. 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 the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, by failing to prevent the physical and psychological torture and ill-treatment, including prolonged solitary confident, the denial of adequate medical care, and the introduction of new charges against Dr. Taheri and the rearrest of Mr. Pourshaji, has violated their right to be free form torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment as provided by articles 1 and 16 of the CAT. 45