A/HRC/34/54/Add.3 detention, has violated their to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as provided by articles 1 and 16 of the Convention against Torture (CAT). 289. The Special Rapporteur strongly urges the Government of Israel to put an immediate end to torture and mistreatment, and to conduct a prompt, impartial, and effective investigation of the alleged acts of torture, to prosecute and punish those responsible, and to provide adequate redress to the victims, as codified inter alia in the CAT and in customary international law. The Special Rapporteur further calls upon the Government to take appropriate measures to ensure the physical and psychological integrity of all the persons, and particularly children, who are arrested and detained. JUA 19/08/2016 Case No. ISR 11/2016 State Reply: 31/08/2016 Allegations concerning the arbitrary detention, solitary confinement, excessive use of restraints, and risk of force-feeding of Mr. Bilal Kayed, a Palestinian prisoner who has been on hunger strike in protest of his detention. 290. The Special Rapporteur thanks the State of Israel for its reply, dated 31 August 2016, to the present communication, available via the link above. 291. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the information provided by the State regarding Mr. Kayed’s access to medical treatment during his hunger strike. He takes note of the information provided by the State about allegations concerning forced feeding, excessive use of restraints, and denial of visitation rights to the family of Mr. Kayed. In spite of the information supplied by the Government, its reply fails to provide information about the allegations of solitary confinement of Mr. Kayed from September 2015 until his scheduled release on 13 June 2016 and measures taken to ensure his physical and psychological integrity. In addition, it does not sufficiently address the allegations of the risk of forced feeding and excessive use of restraints against him. 292. In the absence of information to the contrary, the Special Rapporteur concludes that there is substance in the allegations presented in the initial communication and thus that the State of Israel, by failing to protect the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Kayed, including by subjecting him to solitary confinement, the risk of forced feeding, and excessive use of restraints, has violated his right to be free from torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment as provided by Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Articles 1, 2, and 16 of the Convention Against Torture (CAT), and has failed 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 CAT. 293. In his interim report to the General Assembly of 5 August 2011 (A/66/268), the Special Rapporteur 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) 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, stating that prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement runs afoul of the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 55