A/HRC/31/26 public.16 On 13 December 2015, Iranian media reported that a woman convicted of adultery was sentenced to death by stoning in Gilan province. As at the end of December, the verdict was awaiting confirmation by the Head of the Judiciary. Article 225 of the new Islamic Penal Code prescribes stoning as a punishment for people convicted of adultery.17 United Nations human rights mechanisms hold the view that execution by stoning constitutes a form of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment prohibited in international law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Human Rights Committee has concluded that stoning to death for adultery is a punishment that is grossly disproportionate to the nature of the “crime”. 18 18. The Secretary-General regrets the Government’s refusal to accept all the recommendations concerning torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment that it received during the second cycle of the universal periodic review. The Government accepted parts of four recommendations while rejecting recommendations that it outlaw inhuman corporal punishments, revoke all laws that allowed corporal punishment of children, and investigate and prosecute all those responsible for ill-treatment or abuse of detainees (A/HRC/28/12 and Corr.1). The Government also rejected recommendations that it ratify the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Optional Protocol thereto. 19. The persistence of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment in various places of detention and prisons also remains of serious concern. Beatings, stress positions, denial of medical attention and prolonged solitary confinement are among commonly applied methods of ill-treatment. Such treatment appears to affect mainly human rights defenders, journalists, social activists, political activists, members of some religious groups and individuals associated with some minority groups. The authorities argue that torture is prohibited under Iranian law and that perpetrators are subjected to severe penalties. They stated that detention facilities were systematically supervised and inspections carried out by relevant authorities, including the Supervision and Management of Prisons Organization. 20. Between January and November 2015, special procedure mandate holders transmitted 14 communications to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran concerning prolonged solitary confinement, forced confessions, flogging, amputations, blinding, virginity tests (also referred to as “virginity examinations”), pregnancy tests and lack of medical attention to prisoners. For instance, on 13 September 2015, Shahrokh Zamani, a labour rights activist, reportedly died of a stroke in Rajai Shahr prison. He had been waiting for nearly a year to receive a magnetic resonance imaging test for persistent neurological symptoms. The denial of health care, along with the severely overcrowded and unsanitary conditions and deficient food, is believed to have caused his death. 21. On 10 January 2015, Atena Farghdani, a peace activist and artist, was arrested and beaten in front of her parents and later in front of a court judge. In June, she received a sentence of 12 years and 6 months of imprisonment. While in prison, she was reportedly subjected to torture, sexual harassment and degrading detention conditions. Furthermore, she was reportedly forced to take virginity and pregnancy tests and held in solitary 16 17 18 6 In January 2015, a young man identified as Hamid S. reportedly underwent surgical removal of his left eye and right ear after a 2005 incident in which he attacked a man with acid, causing the victim to lose an eye and an ear. In their comments on the present report, the authorities confirmed that the blinding sentence was carried out on 4 March 2015, after the victim insisted on the implementation of qisas. See http://ana.ir/news/71450 (in Persian). General comment No. 20.