A/HRC/31/69 3 per cent were for murder and 4 per cent were for other crimes, including financial corruption. In its response, the Government asserts that an excessive concentration on the claims concerning an increase in executions reduces the credibility of the report, and notes that drug-related executions account for 80 per cent of all executions in the country. 37. Executions remain concentrated in large prisons in major urban areas, such as Ghezel Hesar and Rajai Shahr in Karaj and Adel Abad in Shiraz (see figure III). The Government continues to conduct public executions, which accounted for 6 per cent of the total number of executions in 2015. Figure III Prisons with the highest rates of executions in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2015 Arak Bandar Abbas Central Prison of Karaj Ghezel Hasar Rajai Shahr Rasht Shiraz Tabriz Urmia Zahedan 31 52 42 155 109 35 77 35 68 30 0 40 80 120 160 200 Source: Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre. B. Freedom of expression, opinion and access to information 38. The Islamic Republic of Iran received 11 recommendations related to freedom of expression during the universal periodic review in 2014, of which it accepted 2 and partially accepted 4, including the recommendation that it take the necessary steps to ensure, and that its citizens fully enjoy, the rights and freedoms awarded to them by the Constitution, with special emphasis on the right to freedom of expression, the right to political activity and the right to assemble, and the recommendation to strengthen and promote freedom of expression, particularly that of the press (see A/HRC/14/12 and Add.1). In its response, the Government notes that it rejected a number of recommendations with regard to freedom of expression because they were contrary to the country’s fundamental values, Islamic tenets and Constitution. 39. On 19 January 2016, the Special Rapporteur welcomed the release of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, who had been unlawfully detained by security and intelligence forces since July 2014, and encouraged the authorities to pave the way for the release of all remaining detainees unlawfully held in the country’s prisons. 26 As of January 2016, at least 45 journalists and Internet users were reportedly imprisoned in the country.27 At least six prominent artists, writers and musicians have been arbitrarily detained or prosecuted since October 2015. The Islamic Republic of Iran is ranked as the seventh most-censored country 26 27 See http://shaheedoniran.org/english/dr-shaheeds-work/press-releases/un-human-rights-expertswelcome-freeing-of-iranian-americans-and-call-for-more-releases/. See www.en.rsf.org; www.cpj.org; www.journalismisnotacrime.org; www.iranhumanrights.org. 11