Methods of restraint 31. Instruments of restraint including handcuffs, chains, irons and straitjackets should only be used for security purposes and never be applied as a punishment.339 For example, CAT has recommended abolition of ‘electro-shock stun belts and restraint chairs’ noting that they often result in breaches of UNCAT.340 32. Instruments of restraint should be used only to prevent escape during a transfer, on medical grounds or as a last resort to prevent prisoners from injuring themselves or others or from damaging property, or where all other means are ineffective.341 Rule 34 of the UN Standard Minimum Rules states that instruments of restraint must not be applied for any longer than is strictly necessary. 33. Where means of restraint or force have been used against a detainee, they have the right to be examined immediately and be provided with medical treatment if necessary.342 Solitary Confinement 34. Although the Committee Against Torture has recommended that solitary confinement be abolished except in exceptional circumstances,343 for other treaty bodies it does not of itself violate international human rights law but it can cross the threshold of inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment depending on the aim, length of time and conditions in which the individual is detained. Therefore, ‘prolonged solitary confinement of the detained or imprisoned person may amount to acts prohibited by article 7’.344 35. The impact on the individual may be important if it ‘produced any adverse physical or mental effects’. So where an individual was detained in a cell of 2 x 3 meters and only permitted to leave for half an hour a day, the Human Rights Committee found no violation of the ICCPR.345 However, detention for seven months in solitary confinement,346 and detention in an underground cell, where the individual was tortured and denied medical treatment, were violations.347 36. The use of solitary confinement should be ‘strictly and specifically regulated by law’.348 339 UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, Rule 33. UN Human Rights Fact Sheet, Torture, Combating Torture, No.4, Rev.1, p.36. See also e.g. Ashot Harutyunyan v Armenia finding a violation of Article 3 ECHR on account of the applicant's placement in a metal cage during the appeal proceedings. 340 CAT, re the USA, 45 UN doc.A/55/44, p. 32, para. 180(c). 341 Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, Principle 4. 342 CPT/INF/E (2002), 1, p.19. 343 UN doc. A/53/44, p. 17, para. 156 (Norway) and A/52/44, p. 34, para. 225 (Sweden). 344 Human Rights Committee General Comment No.20, 44th Session (1992), para 6. 345 Human Rights Committee, Communication 265/1987, A. Vuolanne v. Finland, 7 April 1989. 346 Communication 109/1981, T. Gómez de Voituret v. Uruguay UN doc. A/39/40, p. 168. 347 Communication R.14/63, R. S. Antonaccio v. Uruguay UN doc. A/37/40, p. 120 348 UN docs. A/53/44, p. 17, para. 156 (Norway) and A/52/44, p. 34, para. 225 (Sweden). 71