A/HRC/28/70 he was indicted for “propaganda against the system”. He began his four-month sentence on 19 October 2014.19 E. Detention conditions and treatment of prisoners 27. The Special Rapporteur remains concerned about reports of insufficient or nonexistent access to medical services for detainees and insufficient segregation practices in prisons. Between April and December 2014, the Special Rapporteur and other thematic mandate holders transmitted five communications on the deteriorating health conditions of 16 detainees in urgent need of specialized medical care outside prison. Some of those individuals were reportedly at risk of dying owing to inadequate medical attention. In a very few cases, prisoners had been allowed to seek medical aid outside prison. The Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners mandate that sick prisoners requiring specialized treatment be provided adequate access to appropriate medical institutions and staff and call for the separation of prisoners on the basis of their sex, age, criminal record and the legal reason for their detention. 28. On 20 November 2014, at least 24 Kurdish prisoners in Ward 12 of Urumia Central Prison (in West Azerbaijan Province) reportedly embarked on hunger strikes to protest insufficient prisoner segregation and inadequate access to medical treatment (see annex I). Some of the prisoners had been convicted of vaguely defined national security charges, for example, those of distributing pamphlets and statements to commemorate International Mother Language Day, posting articles on social networks, checking Kurdish opposition websites and contacting the administrators of such websites, distributing political pamphlets and cooperating with or joining opposition parties. 29. On 9 December 2014 the security forces of Urumia Central Prison allegedly surrounded Ward 12 and threatened to attack the protestors if they continued their hunger strike. Several protestors were reportedly summoned to the Intelligence Office and subjected to various threats, such as new charges, transfer to solitary confinement, imprisonment in “exile” and the arrest of family members. Others engaged in the hunger strikes, including Ali Afshari, Mohammad Abdollahi and Saman Nasim, an alleged juvenile offender, were threatened with having their execution sentences expedited. On 10 December, Intelligence officials allegedly demanded that the family of Mr. Nasim encourage him to end his hunger strike, otherwise his execution sentence would be imminently implemented.20 On 22 December 2014, 26 prisoners reportedly ended their strike after authorities committed to stop harassing family members and to investigate the prisoners’ concerns. F. Freedom of expression and access to information 30. The Government received 19 recommendations related to the freedom of expression and opinion and access to information during its universal periodic review in 2014. The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance organized the twentieth national press fair, held 19 20 Letter from the Centre for Supporters of Human Rights dated 10 November 2014, copied to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, http://cshr.org.uk/human-rights-portal/news/2830; see also the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, http://persian.iranhumanrights.org/1393/08/shamnejad_kord_lawer/. Information submitted to the office of the Special Rapporteur on 16 December 2014. 9