A/HRC/28/68/Add.1 (d) UA 10/01/2014 Case No. USA 1/2014 State Reply: None to date Allegations concerning the case of Mr. Kenny Zulu Whitmore, who has been held in a solitary confinement for 35 years (of which 27 consecutive years) in the maximum security Louisiana State Prison (LSP, also known as Angola), in the United States of America. 615. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of the United States 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). 616. 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 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 is running afoul 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. 617. 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). 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. The Special Rapporteur recalls that when used indefinitely, 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. 618. 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 the United States, by holding Mr. Whitmore in solitary confinement for 35 years, 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). (e) JUA 10/07/2014 Case No. USA 11/2014 State Reply: 07/01/2015 Allegations of arbitrary, incommunicado detention and possible disappearance of Mr. Sharif Mobley, a U.S. citizen apprehended upon suspicion of involvement in “terrorist activities”. 619. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of the United States of America for its reply, dated 07.01.2015, to the present communication. 620. The Rapporteur takes note of the information provided by the Government that the Government is prevented from providing any information without the written consent of Mr. Mobley. 101