A/HRC/48/28 2021, the Papua Inspector General of the Papua Province Police, in explaining the crimes allegedly committed, made reference to calls by Mr. Yeimo for self-determination of the Papuan people at the UN Human Rights Council in March 2019.37 50. On 12 August 2021, the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report, affirming their position condemning intimidation and reprisals for cooperation with the UN, including human rights defenders, which they noted they had made clear during the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council. The Government rejected that the arrest of Mr. Yeimo was related to his cooperation with the UN, including the Human Rights Council in 2019, stating that his case strictly concerns his alleged involvement in the incitement of mass riots of Jayapura, Papua Province on 19 August 2019 and his advocacy for separatism and secession for which he is awaiting trial for treason and public incitement. 12. Iran, Islamic Republic of 51. Multiple UN actors raised concerns about obstacles and retaliation preventing civil society actors and their family members from sharing information and providing testimony, including at international fora such as the UN. Several alleged acts of intimidation and reprisals against human rights defenders and protesters, including detention and ill-treatment, threat of arrest, criminal prosecution and convictions, freezing of assets, travel bans, and surveillance, were reported during the reporting period. Many individuals and their families declined UN action on their cases due to a fear of further reprisals. 52. In January 2021, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran reported that Mr. Manouchehr Bakhtiari, father of Pouya Bakhtiari, who was killed by security forces during the November 2019 protests, has been subjected, together with other relatives, to repeated arrests, interrogations and threats for publicly calling for justice (A/HRC/46/50, para. 18). In a 29 May 2020 letter addressed to the High Commissioner for Human Rights and others, Mr. Bakhtiari called for an international investigation into the November 2019 crackdown (para. 18). Mr. Bakhtiari was arrested in January 2020 together with other members of his family and repeatedly threatened not to speak publicly of his son’s death (A/75/213, para. 15). Following his first arrest, he was charged with national security crimes, and subsequently released on bail. 53. On 13 July 2020, he was arrested again and transferred to a prison in Bandar Abbas. Following an initial period of incommunicado detention, he was released on bail on 6 December 2020. On 7 April 2021, Mr. Bakhtiari was among over 20 relatives of victims of the November 2019 protests who were arrested by security forces in Esfahan and released the following day. On 29 April 2021 he was arrested again, and it was reported in July 2021 that he was sentenced on national security-related charges to three years and six months in prison, and two years and six months in exile in another province in Iran. 54. It was reported to OHCHR that Messrs. Vahid and Habib Afkari, detained following their participation in protests, were placed in solitary confinement on 5 September 2020 (see A/HRC/47/22, para. 24) reportedly in retaliation for their family’s request for UN action on behalf of their brother, Mr. Navid Afkari, and to prevent them from sharing information about the circumstances of his execution, which followed a few days after the submission of the request, on 12 September 2020 (paras. 7, 22). The situation of their brother, Mr. Navid Afkari, who was accused of murder and allegedly tortured to confess, following his participation in protests in 2018,38 was raised by OHCHR and multiple special procedures mandate holders, who called his execution “deeply disturbing.”39 55. In September 2020, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran raised concerns about the arbitrary execution of Mr. Navid Afkari 37 38 39 Item 4, General Debate, 32nd Meeting, 40th Regular Session Human Rights Council, at https://media.un.org/en/asset/k15/k15al6ps0l (time stamp 02:14:03). https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26231; https://twitter.com/UNHumanRights/status/1306214381949157376. https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/09/1072302; see also https://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26420&LangID=E. 31