A/HRC/39/41 11. On 25 June 2018 the Government responded to the letter of the Assistant SecretaryGeneral and stated that Ms. Al-Salman was banned from travel in 2016 according to the procedure of investigations of the General Prosecutor, and that the ban was lifted immediately once the investigations were over. On 30 August 2017, another travel ban was issued to her, due to an investigation relating to her participation and demonstration in a non- authorized march. 3. Burundi 12. The cases of Mr. Armel Niyongere, Mr. Dieudonné Bashirahishize, Mr. Vital Nshimirimana, and Mr. Lambert Nigarura were included in the 2017 report of the Secretary-General (see A/HRC/36/31, para. 24 and Annex, paras. 11-15). The four lawyers had contributed to an alternative report submitted to the Committee against Torture for the consideration of the special report of Burundi, and Mr. Niyongere, Mr. Bashirahishize, and Mr. Nigarura had attended the interactive dialogue between Burundi and the Committee on behalf of the civil society organisations they represented.. . On 29 July 2016, during the second day of the dialogue between the Committee and the Government, the Government suspended its participation at the session and the delegation was absent. The Committee was immediately informed of a letter from the Attorney General of Bujumbura, dated 29 July 2016, requesting that the Bujumbura Bar Association disbar the four lawyers. 13. On 16 January 2017, the Bujumbura Court of Appeal disbarred Mr. Niyongere, Mr. Dieudonné Bashirahishize and Mr. l Nshimirimana, and suspended Mr. Nigarura for a period of one year and denied him participation in the Conseil du l’Ordre des Avocats for a period of five years. However the Court decision has not been communicated to the victims, thus denying them a right of appeal and without any further recourse or remedy. The Committee noted in a letter of 27 February 2017 that it considers the verdict of the court as an act of reprisal for the individuals’ engagement with the Committee and the United Nations human rights system. At the time of writing no response had been received from the Government. 4. China 14. The 2017 report of the Secretary-General (see A/HRC/36/31, Annex paras. 22-24) referred to the disappearance of Mr. Jiang Tianyong, a prominent human rights lawyer who had met with Mr. Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights during his visit to China in August 2016. On 2 December 2016, four special procedures mandate holders raised concerns regarding actions taken against Mr. Jiang, including that his disappearance may have occurred, at least in part, in reprisal for his cooperation with the Special Rapporteur (A/HRC/34/75, CHN 13/2016). 15. On 6 September 2017 four special procedures mandate holders called on the Government to immediately release Mr. Jiang, who was on trial for inciting subversion of the State’s power and expressed concerns over a lack of fair trial standards. 1 They expressed concern that he had been detained and under surveillance at an unknown location for more than nine months, without access to his family or a lawyer of his own choosing, and that he may have been subjected to torture and ill-treatment. The special procedures mandate holders stated that “Mr. Jiang’s ‘crime’ apparently included communications with foreign entities, which potentially include the United Nations human rights mechanisms, giving interviews to foreign media, and receiving training on the Western constitutional system, all of which have been carried out in the course of his work as a lawyer.” 2 16. Mr. Jiang was found guilty of inciting subversion of the State’s power on 21 November 2017 by the Changsha Intermediate People’s Court and sentenced to two years jail. On 23 November 2017, four special procedures mandate holders condemned the verdict and appealed to the Government to unconditionally release Mr. Jiang, noting that “Mr. Jiang’s trial clearly fell short of international standards and his conviction represents an unfair and arbitrary punishment of a human rights lawyer and defender, whose only 1 2 44 OHCHR, “UN experts urge China to release lawyer Jiang Tianyong currently on trial for subversion,” 6 September 2017. Ibid. GE.18-13325