A/HRC/34/54/Add.3 treatment as provided by article 7 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). 241. In this context, the Special Rapporteur would like to draw the Government’s attention to paragraph 7(c) of Human Rights Council Resolution 16/23 that urges states to ensure that no confession extracted under torture may be invoked as evidence in any proceedings, except against a person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was made. 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 under conditions of total isolation) 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. 242. 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. JUA 26/04/2016 Case No. IRN 9/2016 State Reply: 07/09/2016 and 16/11/2016 Allegations concerning the arbitrary detention and sentencing of Mr. Omid Kokabee, and denial of access to adequate medical treatment while in detention. 243. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Islamic Republic of Iran for its replies, dated 7 September 2016 and 16 November 2016, to the present communication. 244. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the information provided by the Government indicating that Mr. Kokabee was released from prison on 25 May 2016 with the postponement of the verdict in his case; and that, subsequently, following his conviction on charges of cooperation with hostile states and espionage, having met the due process of the law, Mr. Kokabee “could be . . . conditionally released for three years and was released” on 24 August 2016, under article 58 of the Islamic Penal Code. The Special Rapporteur takes note of the information specifying the medical treatment afforded to Mr. Kokabee, while in detention. In spite of the information supplied by the Government, its reply fails to confirm that Mr. Kokabee had sufficient access to timely and adequate diagnosis and treatment while in detention, and that the Government has adopted policies and regulations to ensure proper and adequate medical treatment of prisoners in similar situations, and to protect the human rights of vulnerable prison populations and those convicted of political or national security crimes. 245. 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 therefore that the Government of Iran, by failing to provide Mr. Kokabee with timely and adequate diagnosis and treatment of kidney cancer, which caused him to lose his right kidney on 20 April 2016, and by failing to protect his physical and psychological integrity, has violated his right to be free from torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment as provided by Article 7 of the 47