A/HRC/31/57/Add.1 245. The Rapporteur urges the State to take all necessary interim measures to ensure the full protection of Dr. Mohammed Ali Taheri against any violation of his human rights, including the commutation of his death penalty. He further calls on the Government to refrain from carrying out death sentences and abolish the practice of executions. (l) JUA 12/08/2015 Case No. IRN 13/2015 State Reply: None to date Allegations of prolonged solitary confinement and ill-treatment of Mr. Jason Rezaian, international journalist and double-national of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America 246. 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. 247. The Special Rapporteur recalls his interim report to the General Assembly of 5 August 2011 (A/66/268), wherein he 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 (in excess of 15 days under conditions of total isolation) or indefinite solitary confinement may never constitute a legitimate instrument of the State, as 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 – Prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement runs afoul of the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 248. 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 Islamic Republic of Iran, by submitting Mr. Jason Rezaian to prolonged solitary confinement (at least 5 months), and by failing to provide him with adequate medical care, has violated his right to be free from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as codified, inter alia, in article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 249. Before the publication of this report, Mr. Rezaian has been freed in an exchange of prisoners with the United States. (m) JAL 20/08/2015 Case No. IRN 14/2015 State Reply: None to date Allegations concerning the application of corporal punishments against individuals including Mr. Hamid, Mr. Kamran Jamalzadeh, Mr. Hamed, Mr. Rahman K. and a number of unidentified prisoners. 250. 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. 251. The Special Rapporteur recalls that any form of corporal punishment constitutes cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or even torture in violation of customary international law. An imposition of such penalty, even if not actually executed, is itself a threat of pain and suffering of a mental nature that is equally prohibited by international law. 252. In the absence of information to the contrary, the Rapporteur concludes that there is substance in the allegations presented in the initial communication, and that the government, by subjecting Mr. Hamid, Mr. Kamran Jamalzadeh, Mr. Hamed, Mr. Rahman K. and a number of unidentified prisoners to corporal punishment has violated their right to be free from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.. With 44