5.1.1. Torture and ill-treatment utilising standard handcuffs or leg restraints Any use of these restraint devices should be strictly in line with regional and international standards, including the Nelson Mandela Rules, and should only be applied for the minimum time necessary. However handcuffs and leg restraints are often misused to increase the level of suffering caused to individuals already under control, for example through excessive tightening, attachment to fixed objects, employment in suspension of prisoners, to place and maintain prisoners in stress positions; or used in conjunction with other means of force e.g. hand-held batons or pepper spray. During the 2012-2017 period, there were reports by the CPT, Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch of handcuffs being used inappropriately in places of detention or at the moment of arrest in Albania,135 Armenia136, Azerbaijan,137 Bosnia and Herzegovina, 138 Bulgaria139, Cyprus140, Denmark141, Georgia,142 Greece143, Hungary144, Ireland,145 Italy,146 Macedonia147, Moldova,148 Montenegro,149 Netherlands150, 135 CPT, Report to the Albanian Government on the visit to Albania carried out by the CPT from 4 to 14 February 2014, 3 March 2016. 136 CPT, Report to the Armenian Government on the visit to Armenia carried out by the CPT from 5 to 15 October 2015, 22 November 2016. 137 Human Rights Watch, Tightening the Screws, Azerbaijan’s Crackdown on Civil Society and Dissent, 1 September 2013. 138 CPT (5 July 2016) op.cit. 139 CPT, Report to the Bulgarian Government on the visit to Bulgaria carried out by the CPT from 24 March to 3 April 2014, 29 January 2015; CPT, Report to the Bulgarian Government on the visit to Bulgaria carried out by the CPT from 13 to 20 February 2015, 12 November 2015. 140 CPT, Report to the Government of Cyprus on the visit to Cyprus carried out by the CPT from 23 September to 1 October 2013, 9 December 2014. 141 CPT, Report to the Danish Government on the visit to Denmark carried out by the CPT from 4 to 13 February 2014, 17 September 2014. 142 CPT, Report to the Georgian Government on the visit to Georgia carried out by the CPT from 1 to 11 December 2014, 15 December 2015. 143 CPT, Report to the Greek Government on the visits to Greece carried out by the CPT from 13 to 18 April and 19 to 25 July 2016, 26 September 2017. 144 CPT, Report to the Hungarian Government on the visit to Hungary carried out by the CPT from 3 to 12 April 2013, 30 April 2014; CPT, Report to the Hungarian Government on the visit to Hungary carried out by the CPT from 21 to 27 October 2015, 3 November 2016. 145 CPT, Report to the Government of Ireland on the visit to Ireland carried out by the CPT from 16 to 26 September 2014, 17 November 2015. 146 CPT, Report to the Italian Government on the visit to Italy carried out by the CPT from 8 to 21 April 2016, 8 September 2017. 147 CPT, Report to the Government of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” on the visit to “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” carried out by the CPT from 7 to 17 October 2014, 17 March 2016. 148 CPT, Report to the Government of the Republic of Moldova on the visit to the Republic of Moldova carried out by the CPT from 14 to 25 September 2015, 30 June 2016. 149 CPT (22 May 2014) op.cit. 150 CPT, Report to the Government of the Netherlands on the visit to the Netherlands carried out by the CPT from 2 to 13 May 2016, 11 November 2016. 33