A/HRC/34/54/Add.3 213. Further, in the Special Rapporteur’s interim report to the General Assembly of 5 August 2011 (A/66/268), 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 when adequate and effective safeguards in place, the use of prolonged (in excess of 15 days) or indefinite solitary confinement causes severe mental and physical pain or suffering. The Special Rapporteur further recalls 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. Furthermore, due to the prisoner’s lack of communication, as well as the lack of witnesses inside the prison, solitary confinement may also give rise to other acts of torture or ill-treatment. 214. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to comply with its obligations under international customary law to investigate, prosecute, and punish all acts of torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment as codified, inter alia, in the Convention against Torture (CAT) and the ICCPR. JAL 29/10/2015 Case No. IRN 16/2015 State Reply: 26/04/2016 Allegations concerning the execution of Mr. Behrouz Alkhani, a Kurdish man, which occurred while the outcome of a Supreme Court appeal was pending. 215. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for its reply, dated 26 April 2016, to the present communication, available via the link above. 216. The Special Rapporteur takes note of the information provided by the Government that Mr. Alkhani’s sentence was referred to and confirmed by the Supreme Court based on the evidence, after which time the sentence was executed on 25 August 2015. 217. In spite of the information supplied by the Government, its reply fails to respond to allegations that Mr. Alkhani was executed while awaiting the outcome of a separate Supreme Court appeal, following the overturning of the original Supreme Court sentence, and his subsequent re-sentencing by Branch 10 of the Appeal Court of the Oroumieh province; that Mr. Alkhani was denied a fair trial and due process guarantees; and that authorities have refused to return his body to his family for burial. The Special Rapporteur hence finds that the Government, in its reply, does not sufficiently address the concerns, legal obligations, and questions raised in the initial communication, which prompts him to conclude that the Government fails to fully and expeditiously cooperate with the mandate issued by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 25/13. 218. As observed by the Special Rapporteur in his 2012 report to the General Assembly (A/67/279), there is evidence of an evolving standard within international bodies and a robust State practice to frame the debate about the legality of the death penalty within the context of the fundamental concepts of human dignity and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This evolving standard, along with the resulting illegality of the death penalty if imposed or executed under circumstances that violate such prohibition, is developing into a norm of customary law, if it has not already done so (para. 74). The Special Rapporteur calls upon all States to reconsider whether the use of the death penalty per se respects the inherent dignity of the human person, causes severe mental and physical pain or suffering and constitutes a violation of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (para. 79). Even if this customary norm is still under way, the Special 42