A/HRC/36/31 9. India 36. Allegations were received about intimidation and reprisals against Khurram Parvez in relation to his cooperation with the Human Rights Council, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and the universal periodic review mechanism. The reprisals allegedly took the form of a travel ban and arbitrary arrest and detention. Special procedures took action on these allegations, and have been in contact with the Government of India in that regard (A/HRC/34/75, para. 10, IND 7/2016 and IND 9/2016). 10. Iran (Islamic Republic of) 37. In presenting to the Human Rights Council in March 2017 the report of the SecretaryGeneral on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran (A/HRC/34/40), the Deputy United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stressed that reprisals against individuals cooperating or establishing contact with United Nations human rights mechanisms had been reported. In the report, it was stressed that allegations of reprisals against such individuals remained a cause of great concern; reference was made in particular to a press statement issued by special procedure mandate holders, in November 2016, in which they urged the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to end its harassment of Raheleh Rahemipor. The mandate holders referred in particular to the fact that Ms. Rahemipor was the sister of Hossein Rahemipor, whose case was under review by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, and to the continued harassment of Ms. Rahemipor, including the incidents during which she was questioned repeatedly in August 2016 by the relevant authorities about the complaint sent to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (see A/HRC/34/75, para. 10, IRN 23/2016 and IRN 29/2016; and A/HRC/35/44, para. 12, IRN 3/2017). 11. Israel 38. In his report submitted to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-fourth session (A/HRC/34/70), the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 highlighted an increasingly virulent environment for human rights defenders working on issues related to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including those addressing issues in United Nations forums. He reported that, following a statement made in October 2016 to the Security Council, the Director-General of B’Tselem, Hagai ElAd, together with Lara Friedman of Americans for Peace Now, was publicly condemned by high-level Israeli officials; one Member of Parliament called for the revocation of his citizenship. Mr. El-Ad had warned of the expansion of settlements and the deteriorating situation of human rights for Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (A/HRC/34/70, para. 47). 39. The above mentioned report followed a joint press statement issued on 16 December 2016 by the Special Rapporteur and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, in which they expressed their concerns for human rights activists working in the Occupied Palestinian Territory who had been subjected to harassment and threats while seeking to promote accountability and engage with the International Criminal Court. 4 Nada Kiswanson, a human rights lawyer in The Hague, where she represents Al-Haq, an organization that documents violations of Palestinians’ rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory regardless of the identity of the perpetrator, is alleged to have been subjected to death threats and accusations linked to her work before the International Criminal Court (see A/HRC/34/70, para. 44). 12. Mauritania 40. On 11 October 2016, seven special procedure mandate holders expressed their concerns about grave violations in Mauritania of the judicial process, including allegations of torture following the arrest, arbitrary detention and sentencing to prison of 13 members of Initiative pour la résurgence du mouvement abolitionniste. The mandate holders also 4 OHCHR, “Human rights defenders under growing legal pressure in the OPT – UN rights experts”, press release, 16 December 2016. 9