A/HRC/22/53/Add.4 facts, leading to the prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators, and to provide full redress to Ms. Mohammadi. (c) JUA 27/09/2011 Case No. IRN 11/2011 State reply: 26/09/2012 Alleged arbitrary detention and solitary confinement of human rights lawyer and defender. 171. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for its response to this communication dated 26 September 2012, regarding the alleged arbitrary detention and solitary confinement of Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani, a human rights lawyer and defender. In its reply, the Government reported that Mr. Soltani‟s appeal was heard by branch 54 of Tehran‟s court of appeals. The government described that part of Mr. Soltani‟s original verdict, which condemned him to five years‟ imprisonment, was dismissed, and that his prohibition from practicing law after his release from prison was reduced to a period of ten years. The Government explained that the remainder of the lower court‟s verdict was upheld. While the Special Rapporteur appreciates the Government‟s response, he regrets that the Government did not address allegations that Mr. Soltani was placed in solitary confinement in Section 209 of the Evin prison. In this context, the Special Rapporteur stresses that the Government has an obligation to protect the right to physical and mental integrity of all persons, which is set forth inter alia in the UDHR and the ICCPR. The Special Rapporteur reiterates paragraph 6 of General Comment 20 of the Human Rights Committee, which states that prolonged solitary confinement of the detained or imprisoned person may amount to acts prohibited by article 7 [on the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment] of the ICCPR. The Special Rapporteur also reminds the Government of article 7 of the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners, which provides “efforts addressed to the abolition of solitary confinement as a punishment, or to the restriction of its use, should be undertaken and encouraged.” The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to take all necessary measures to guarantee that the rights and freedoms of Mr. Soltani are respected and, if investigations support or suggest the allegations to be correct, to adopt effective measures to ensure accountability. (d) JUA 11/10/2011 Case No. IRN 13/2011 State reply: 31/05/2012, 28/11/2012 Alleged arrest and detention, ill-treatment, judicial harassment and sentencing of women human rights defenders. 172. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for its response to this communication in reference to the alleged ill-treatment and denial of medical treatment of Ms. Faranak Farid, the alleged incommunicado detention of Ms. Farid and Ms. Fereshteh Shirazi, and the alleged judicial harassment, sentencing, and arbitrary detention of Ms. Nasrin Sotoudeh, Ms. Narges Mohammadi and Ms. Shiva Nazar-Ahai. In its reply, the Government of Iran states that Ms. Shirazi was charged and convicted of disseminating propaganda and falsely alarming the public by insulting and making false allegations about government officials. She was sentenced to two years imprisonment, and was barred from exiting the country for five years. The Government, however, did not comment on the cases of Ms. Farid, Ms. Sotoudeh, Ms. Mohammadi, or Ms. Nazar-Ahai, nor did not explain if it had taken any measures to ensure the physical and psychological safety of any of the aforementioned victims. The Special Rapporteur notes that Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights expressly prohibits all forms of torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Special Rapporteur also reiterates that under paragraph 8(b) of Human Rights Council Resolution 16/23, “(p)rolonged incommunicado detention or detention in secret places can facilitate the perpetration of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and can in itself constitute a form of such treatment.” The Resolution further urges all states “to respect the safeguards concerning the liberty, security and the dignity of the person and to ensure that 97