A/HRC/31/57/Add.1 225. The Rapporteur notes that Mr. Rezaian and his wife were released from prison and allowed to leave Iran as part of a prisoner exchange between the governments of Iran and the United States. (h) JUA 02/06/2015 Case No. IRN 7/2015 State Reply: None to date Allegations concerning the situation of Mr. Saman Naseem and Mr. Hamid Ahmadi, both minors at the time of the commission of the crime and at risk of imminent execution. 226. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has not replied to the present communication, thereby failing to cooperate with the mandate issued by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 25/13. 227. 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 when 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). Even if this customary norm is still under way, the Special Rapporteur considers that most conditions under which capital punishment is actually applied renders the punishment tantamount to torture and that under many other, less severe conditions, it still amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (para. 75). 228. 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 A/67/279). He calls upon the Government to observe rigorously the restrictions and conditions imposed by article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Special Rapporteur further recalls that the execution of persons who are under the age of 18 at the time the crime is committed is per se a violation of an existing norm of customary international law (para. 64). 229. Furthermore, as stated in his 2012-report (A/67/279), the Special Rapporteur calls upon the Government to observe rigorously the restrictions and conditions imposed by article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 1 or article 16 of the Convention against Torture. He calls upon retentionist States inter alia to ensure that the method of execution employed causes the least possible physical and mental suffering and that it does not violate the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (para. 80(b)), to refrain from carrying out executions in public or in any other degrading manner, and end the practice of executions with little or no prior warning given to condemned prisoners and their families (para. 80 (c)). 230. In the absence of information to the contrary, the Rapporteur concludes that there is substance in the allegations presented in the initial communication, available via the link above, and thus, that the Government, by sentencing to death Mr. Naseem and Mr. Ahmadi, both juveniles at the time of the commission of the crime, has violated their right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. 231. The Rapporteur strongly urges the State to take all necessary interim measures to ensure the full protection of Mr. Naseem and Mr. Ahmadi against any violation of their human rights, including the commutation of their death penalty. (i) JUA 10/06/2015 Case No. IRN 8/2015 State Reply: None to Date Allegations concerning torture, solitary confinement, denial of due process, and risk of imminent execution, of Mr. Ehsan Shah Ghasemi. 41