A/HRC/31/57/Add.1 against the independence of the judiciary and lawyers by the Lesotho Defence Force and the executive branch. 299. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of Lesotho 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. 300. In the Rapporteur’s 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 (in excess of 15 days under conditions of total isolation) 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 – 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. 301. 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 that the Government of Lesotho, by subjecting at least 23 members of the Lesotho Defence Force to torture and ill-treatment following their alleged arbitrary arrest, including by subjecting 21 of them to prolonged solitary confinement (since mid-October 2015), and by failing to exclude evidence obtained under torture or ill-treatment, has violated the rights of the above mentioned individuals to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as provided by articles 1, 2, 15, and 16 of the 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 Convention against Torture (CAT). Madagascar JAL 13/10/2015 Case No. MDG 1/2015 State Reply: None to date Allégations de torture de la part des forces de l’ordre malgaches de 2012 à 2015, et dans le cadre de l’opération « Fahelemana 2015 ». 302. Le Rapporteur spécial regrette que le gouvernement de Madagascar n’ait pas répondu à la présente communication, échouant ainsi à coopérer avec le mandat émis par le Conseil des droits de l'homme dans sa résolution 25/13. 303. En l’absence d’information prouvant le contraire, le Rapporteur conclut qu’il y a de la substance quant aux allégations présentées dans la communication initiale, réitérées cidessus. En échouant à investiguer les cas de torture présentés entre 2012 et 2015 et en la présence de nouvelles allégations de torture d’individus supposés être des voleurs de zébus par les forces de l’ordre depuis le lancement de l’opération « Fahelemana 2015 » en août dernier, Madagascar a failli à se conformer à l’interdiction absolue de tout acte de torture et autres peines ou traitements cruels, inhumains ou dégradants, comme codifié, entre autre, dans la Convention contre la torture et autres peines ou traitements cruels, inhumains ou dégradants (CCT). 52