A/HRC/22/53/Add.4 would also like to draw the Government‟s attention to paragraph 1 of Human Rights Council Resolution 16/23, which “Condemns all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including through intimidation, which shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever and can thus never be justified, and calls upon all States to implement fully the absolute and non-derogable prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” The Special Rapporteur further draws the Government‟s attention the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. Rule 22(2) provides that, “(s)ick prisoners who require specialist treatment shall be transferred to specialized institutions or to civil hospitals. Where hospital facilities are provided in an institution, their equipment, furnishings and pharmaceutical supplies shall be proper for the medical care and treatment of sick prisoners, and there shall be a staff of suitable trained officers.” Furthermore, Rule 25(1) provides that, “(t)he medical officer shall have the care of the physical and mental health of the prisoners and should daily see all sick prisoners, all who complain of illness, and any prisoner to whom his attention is specially directed.” Based on the information received, the Special Rapporteur determines that Mr. Cuff‟s rights under international standards prohibiting torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment have likely been violated, and calls on the Government to cease the prolonged isolation of Mr. Cuff, and ensure that he obtains adequate medical care and redress, including fair and adequate compensation and as full rehabilitation as possible. (c) AL 21/06/2012 Case No. USA 8/2012 State reply: 21/06/2012 Alleged prolonged solitary confinement 151. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of the United States for its reply dated 28 September 2012 to the communication dated 21 June 2012. The communication referred to the alleged prolonged solitary confinement of Mr. Russel Maroon Shoats, an inmate of Pennsylvania‟s State Correctional Institution (SCI). According to the information we received, Mr. Shoats has spent the last 21 years in solitary confinement, being held in lockdown for 23 to 24 hours each day. The government‟s response mentions the serious nature of the crimes for which Mr Shoats was convicted and the fact that he twice escaped and was recaptured, one time after holding hostages. According to prison authorities, Mr. Shoats has repeatedly been involved in fights with other inmates. On the other hand, the response does not dispute the facts about the conditions of confinement to which Mr. Shoats is subjected or the long term nature of such conditions. A lawsuit brought by Mr. Shoats before United States courts resulted in a finding that the procedures followed to place them in solitary confinement did not breach his rights under the US Constitution. The Special Rapporteur recalls paragraph 6 of General Comment No. 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 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and article 7 of the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners, which provides that “efforts addressed to the abolition of solitary confinement as a punishment, or to the restriction of its use, should be undertaken and encouraged.” In his report a/66/268, the Special Rapporteur states that “solitary confinement is a harsh measure which may cause serious psychological and physiological adverse effects on individuals regardless of their specific conditions.” Moreover, “[d]epending on the specific reason for its application, conditions, length, effects and other circumstances, solitary confinement can amount to . . . an act defined in article 1 or article 16 of the Convention against Torture.” ( paras. 79 and 80). The Special Rapporteur urges that solitary confinement should be used only in very exceptional circumstances, as a last resort, for as short a time as possible (para. 89). Additionally, the Special Rapporteur also reiterates paragraph 1 of Human Rights Council Resolution 16/23, which “Condemns all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including through intimidation, which shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever and can thus never be justified, and calls upon all States to implement fully the absolute and non-derogable prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Based on the information 85