A/HRC/30/29 “spread propaganda against the State” by allegedly sending monthly reports by the Centre to the Human Rights Council and other human rights organizations. In its letter dated 7 January 2015, the Government stated that, as soon as details about Mr. Esmaeilzadeh’s case were received from the High Council for Human Rights of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran, they would be provided. It pointed out, however, that the allegations of acts of reprisal were not founded and had been denied by Iranian judicial officials (ibid.). At the time of finalization of the present report, the information had not yet been provided by the Government. 24. On 21 October 2014, a number of special procedure mandate holders expressed concerns about reported acts of reprisal against Saeed Shirzad, a human rights activist and member of the Society for Defending Street and Working Children in Iran (A/HRC/28/85, case IRN 25/2014). Mr. Shirzad was arrested on 2 June 2014 by officials from the Ministry of Intelligence in Tabriz and transferred to Evin prison in Tehran, where he was held in solitary confinement for two months. On 18 August, he was allegedly verbally informed of the charges against him, which included cooperation with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In its reply dated 11 June 2015, the Government totally refuted the allegations of reprisals against Mr. Shirzad for cooperating with the Special Rapporteur (A/HRC/30/27, case IRN 25/2014). 25. On 25 November 2014, a number of special procedure mandate holders expressed in a joint communication their concern at reported reprisals against Dr. Mohammad Ali Taheri, who is serving a five-year prison sentence in solitary confinement, and his wife for engaging with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran (A/HRC/28/85, case IRN 28/2014). In June 2014, media outlets released a letter that Dr. Taheri had addressed to the Special Rapporteur, in which he described human rights violations being committed in prisons in the Islamic Republic of Iran. On 2 July, the authorities reportedly arrested and detained his wife, releasing her only after she pledged to remain silent. A new charge of “corruption on earth” carrying the death penalty was subsequently brought against Dr. Taheri. In response, in October 2014, Dr. Taheri went on a hunger strike and, at the time of transmission of the communication, reportedly risked dying in detention (ibid.). At the time of finalization of the present report, the Government had not provided a response on this case. 26. In the same communication, the mandate holders also referred to reports of reprisals against Mohammad Reza Pourshajari, a blogger, in relation to his engagement with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mr. Pourshajari was arrested on 30 September 2014 by security forces in Orumieh and held in solitary confinement for 14 days before being transferred to Karaj prison on 14 October while awaiting trial on several charges, including for having been in contact with the Special Rapporteur. In a letter dated 21 April 2015, the Government confirmed the charges against Mr. Pourshajari of “embarking on propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran and futile attempt to illegally leave the country”, while rejecting the other allegations as “utterly baseless” (A/HRC/29/50, case IRN 28/2014). 9. Israel 27. The independent commission of inquiry on the 2014 Gaza conflict, when presenting its report to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-ninth session (A/HRC/29/52), reported that some sources had feared for possible consequences of testifying before the Commission or of proactively cooperating with it. The Commissioners were disturbed by recent reports on the possible cancellation of national service allocation for Israeli nongovernmental organizations in the context of the publication of its report, and added that the organizations cited in the media as potentially affected had in fact not cooperated with the commission. The commissioners pointed out the implications of such actions for the rights of human rights defenders and the right to freedom of opinion and expression. 9