A/HRC/31/57/Add.1 of witnesses inside the prison, solitary confinement may also give rise to other acts of torture or ill-treatment. 448. In the absence of information to the contrary, the Rapporteur concludes that there is substance in the allegations presented in the initial communication, available via the link above, and that the Government of Papua New Guinea, by failing to protect the physical and psychological integrity of human rights defenders at immigration detention facilities in Papua New Guinea, including failing to prevent ill-treatment and torture, incommunicado detention in solitary confinement and restriction on the access to food, medical care, water and sanitation, has violated the rights of the human rights defenders to be free from torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, as provided by article 7 of the ICCPR. Philippines JAL 22/05/2015 Case No. PHL 2/2015 State Reply: None to date Allegations concerning the continued pre-trial detention and conditions of detention of Mr. Scott McMahon 449. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of the Philippines 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. 450. In the absence of information to the contrary, the Rapporteur concludes that there is substance in the allegations presented in the initial communication, available via the link above, and that the Government of the Philippines, by detaining Mr McMahon in deplorable conditions for more than four years and by failing to protect his physical and psychological integrity, has violated his right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman and or degrading treatment, as codified in articles 2 and 16 of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). With regards to the present case, the Special Rapporteur reminds the Government of the Philippines that the Committee against Torture and the Human Rights Committee have consistently found that conditions of detention can amount to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and recalls that these practices have been authoritatively deemed to breach a State’s obligations under international law, inter alia, in Rules 12 through 18(1) and 22 of the Mandela Rules, as readopted from the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners, amended on Nov. 5, 2015 by the General Assembly. Portugal JAL 03/06/15 CASE No. PRT 1/2015 State Reply: 05/08/2015 Allegations concerning complicity in the torture, incommunicado detention, and extraordinary rendition of Mr. Abou Elkassim Britel. 451. The Special Rapport thanks the Government of Portugal for its reply, dated 5 August, 2015, to the present communication. 452. The Rapporteur takes note of the information provided by the Government of Portugal concerning allegations of complicity in the torture, incommunicado detention, and extraordinary rendition of Mr. Abou Elkassim Britel. He further welcomes the Government’s cooperative efforts in this matter. However, notwithstanding its report on the outcome of the Attorney General’s investigation, the Government’s reply does not provide sufficient information concerning the nature and outcome of this investigation.. 453. As observed by the Special Rapporteur in his interim report on extraterritoriality, a State may be found complicit in acts of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment 77