A/HRC/28/68/Add.1 and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as codified, inter alia, in the Convention against Torture (CAT). 438. In his interim report to the General Assembly of 5 August 2011 (A/66/268), the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 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 or indefinite solitary confinement may never constitute a legitimate instrument of the State and 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. 439. Being aware of the arbitrary nature of any effort to establish a moment in time when an already harsh regime becomes prolonged and therefore unacceptable, the Special Rapporteur defined prolonged solitary confinement as any period of solitary confinement in excess of 15 days (A/66/268). This definition was based on the large majority of scientific studies which indicate that after 15 days of isolation harmful psychological effects often manifest themselves and may even become irreversible. The Special Rapporteur recalls that when used indefinitely or for long periods, solitary confinement amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment or even torture, because 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. 440. In the absence of information to the contrary, the Rapporteur concludes that there is substance in the allegations presented in the initial communication, reiterated above, and thus, that the Government of Qatar, by failing to protect the physical and mental integrity of Mr. Irragori Medina, prevent his prolonged solitary confinement, and exclude evidence obtained under torture or ill-treatment, has acted in violation of article 15 of the CAT, and violated his right to be free from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment as provided by articles 1 and 16 or the CAT. With regards to the present case, the Special Rapporteur recalls paragraph 6 of General Comment No. 20 of the Human Rights Committee as well as article 7 of the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners (Adopted by the General Assembly by resolution 45/111 of 14 December 1990). Russian Federation (a) JAL 10/12/2013 Case No. RUS 11/2013 State Reply: 19/02/2014 Allegations concerning the case of Mr. A, born in 1980, citizen of the Russian Federation, residing in B, C city, D, Russian Federation. Mr. A is a drug-dependent person, living with HIV, has tuberculosis and Hepatitis C. 441. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of Russian Federation for its reply, dated 19.02.2014, to the present communication. 442. The Rapporteur takes note of the information provided by the Government that a judicial investigation was conducted into the allegations of Mr. A’s torture and ill-treatment and that they were dismissed and his conviction upheld. On the other hand, a complaint by Mr. A and his lawyer about the same mistreatment was first dismissed and later reinstated as not having been duly investigated. The latter proceedings are said to be pending, and the Special Rapporteur would welcome an update. Given all this, it appears that no effort has 75