A/HRC/19/82 practices of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which have had an adverse impact on the publishing industry and resulted in number of writers postponing the publication of their books. 37. The Secretary-General notes with concern that human rights defenders continue to face a precarious situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran. On 10 September 2011, authorities arrested Abdolfattah Soltani, a prominent lawyer and human rights activist in Tehran, on charges of collusion, propaganda against the system and acquisition of property through illegitimate means. He was reportedly taken to Evin Prison and placed in solitary confinement. His house and law office were searched and his computer and personal documents were confiscated. Mr. Soltani has represented many high-profile political and human rights activists; his arrest is believed to be linked to his profession as a human rights activist and lawyer. A court hearing scheduled for 31 December 2011 was postponed at the request of Mr. Soltani, and owing also to the absence of the prosecutor.59 In February 2012, Mr. Soltani was allegedly sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment and banned from practicing law for 20 years. On 16 November 2011, during a press conference in New York, the Head of the High Council for Human Rights in Iran, Dr. Mohammad Javad Larijani, stated that no lawyer was in prison for his/her profession, but accused Mr. Soltani of having had ties with terrorist groups. 38. The Secretary-General regrets the fact that, despite persistent calls from the High Commissioner and from special procedures mandate holders, Nasrin Sotoudeh, another prominent human rights lawyer, remains in prison. Ms. Sotoudeh was arrested on 4 September 2010 and charged with having “acted against national security”, “not wearing hijab during a videotaped message”, “propaganda against the system” and for being a member of the Centre for Human Rights Defenders. She was sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment, as well as a 20-year ban on practicing law and leaving the country. In September 2011, the Court of Appeal reduced her sentence to six years and the ban on working to 10 years. On 6 May 2011, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, in its opinion 21/2011, found that depriving Ms. Sotoudeh of her liberty was arbitrary and in violation of various provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and requested the Government to release her immediately and provide her with adequate reparation. Furthermore, in September 2011, Nargis Mohammadi, a human rights activist and vice-president of the Centre for Human Rights Defenders, founded by Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, was sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security”, membership of the Centre and propaganda against the regime. Ms. Mohammadi had been arrested at her home in Tehran on 10 June 2010 and taken to Evin Prison, where she was held incommunicado for 20 days before her release on bail on 1 July 2010. Although Ms. Mohammadi is currently on bail, she remains at risk of arrest. III. Cooperation with international human rights mechanisms and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights A. Cooperation with the United Nations human rights treaty system 39. The Islamic Republic of Iran has ratified five core international human rights treaties – the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Convention on the 59 14 Ibid., 1 January 2012. See www.isna.ir/isna/newsview.aspx?id=news-1922654&lang=p.