6.2. Hand-held kinetic impact weapons Hand-held kinetic impact weapons, also known as striking weapons, include batons and truncheons. Very widely employed, they are used to strike an individual to cause or threaten physical pain in order to deter them from an action or cause them to comply. They can be made of wood, plastic, metal or other material and can be short or long (20cm – 2m), telescopic, collapsible or side-handled. Certain types of weapon can have a legitimate law enforcement use when employed correctly and strictly in accordance with international human rights and policing standards. However they are widely abused in the beating of detainees to inflict unnecessary, arbitrary or excessive force in a manner that can easily cause unwarranted injury. For example, when over-arm strikes impact the head or other sensitive areas, there is a risk of brain injury or death. 6.2.1. Misuse of hand-held kinetic impact weapons in CoE member States During the 2012-2017 period, the CPT, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch reported the inappropriate use of striking weapons in Albania277, Armenia278, Azerbaijan279, Bosnia and Herzegovina280, Bulgaria281, Cyprus282, Czech Republic283, France284, Greece285, Hungary,286 Ireland,287 Italy288, Kosovo289, Latvia290, Lithuania291, Macedonia,292 Moldova293, 277 CPT (3 March 2016) op.cit. CPT (22 November 2016) op.cit., paragraph 15. 279 Amnesty International, The spring that never blossomed: Freedoms suppressed in Azerbaijan, November 2011, p. 19. 280 CPT (5 July 2016) op.cit., paragraph 12. 281 Amnesty International, Bulgaria: Investigations into alleged excessive use of force during Sofia protests must be prompt and thorough, EUR 15/001/2013, 1 August 2013. 282 CPT (9 December 2014) op.cit., paragraph 59. 283 CPT (31 March 2015) op.cit., paragraph 9. 284 Amnesty International, EUR 21/6104/2017 (2017) op.cit.; see also Cragg, S. and Mellon, G. Report: Camps at Calais and Grande-Synthe (France): Policing and Access to Justice, Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales (BHRC), July 2016. 285 ,CPT (26 September 2017) op.cit., paragraph 65. 286 CPT (3 November 2016) op.cit., paragraph 16; Human Rights Watch, Hungary: Failing to Protect Vulnerable Refugees, 20 September 2016. 287 CPT (17 November 2015) op.cit., paragraphs 12 & 13. 288 CPT (8 September 2017) op.cit., paragraph 10; Amnesty International, Hotspot Italy, How EU’s flagship approach leads to violations of refugee and migrant rights, EUR 30/5004/2016, October 2016. 289 Amnesty International, Amnesty International condemns excessive use of force by Kosovo police, EUR 70/001/2012, 16 January 2012. 290 CPT, Report to the Latvian Government on the visit to Latvia carried out by the CPT from 12 to 22 April 2016, 29 June 2017, paragraph 15. 291 CPT (4 June 2014) op.cit., paragraph 38. 292 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 6 to 9 December 2016, 12 October 2017, paragraphs 8 &9 ; Human Rights Watch, “As Though We Are Not Human Beings”: Police Brutality against Migrants and Asylum Seekers in Macedonia, 2015, p. 2. 293 CPT (30 June 2016) op.cit.; CPT, Report to the Moldovan Government on the visit to the Republic of Moldova carried out by the CPT from 1 to 10 June 2011, 12 January 2012. 278 56