42 Grasping the nettle: Ending Europe’s Trade in Execution and Torture Technology waist, thigh or ankle. Similarly, a shackle board (or bed) consists of a board (or bed) on which an individual is restrained by means of a multiplicity of restraints. Whilst the shackle bed is normally fixed, a shackle board is designed to enable the restrained individual to be carried, stretcher like. These restraint devices pose a heightened risk of abuse, including torture and other ill-treatment, if the subject is left restrained and/or unattended for prolonged periods or whilst under influence of drugs or alcohol. If additional force is used on the restrained person e.g. employing pepper spray or electric-shock devices this could amount to torture. In 2000, the United Nations Committee against Torture recommended to the U.S. that they should, “Abolish …restraint chairs as methods of restraining those in custody. Their use almost invariably leads to breaches of article 16 of the Convention [the prohibition against cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment].”187 Despite this recommendation, restraint chairs have continued to be widely used in the United States. In 2006, Amnesty International reported that, “At least 18 people have died in U.S. detention facilities after being immobilized in four-point restraint chairs, including several people who had also been pepper-sprayed and shocked with stun weapons.” 188 Above: Image of “Emergency Restraint Chair” manufactured by U.S. company, Safety Restraint Chair, Inc. In 2009, Amnesty International documented how detainees on hunger strike in Guantanamo Bay, “Were alleged to have been subjected to cell extractions, force-feeding and the use of restraint chairs in ways which have amounted to excessive force and violations of the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment.”189 In June 2013, the UK newspaper, the Daily Mail, documented the continuing employment of restraint chairs as an intrinsic part of the practice of force-feeding at Guantanamo Bay. “The U.S. military is still using the chair to cope with a hunger strike by 104 of the 166 prisoners which has lasted more than three months. Each day, up to 40 of them are strapped down and kept alive with a liquid nutrient mix fed through a nasal tube.”190In July 2014, the UK newspaper, The Guardian, detailed the continuing employment of a restraint chair in force-feeding at Guantanamo Bay.191 Images of the restraint chair used in force-feeding at Guantanamo Bay from both newspaper articles appear to be very similar if not identical to the “Emergency Restraint Chair” manufactured by the U.S. company, Safety Restraint Chair, Inc.192 Furthermore a 2006 New York Times article reported that Emergency Restraint Chairs had been sent to the Guantanamo Bay.193 However to date this has not been confirmed by Safety Restraint Chair, Inc. The company has stated that: “The Safety Restraint Chair is intended to help control combative, self destructive, or potentially violent detainees. If used properly it can reduce the risk of physical harm to both the detainee and staff. Violent behavior may mask dangerous medical conditions; therefore detainees must be monitored for and provided with medical treatment if needed. Detainees should not be left in the Safety Restraint Chair for more than two hours. The Safety Restraint Chair should never be used as a means of punishment.”194 There do not appear to be any EU companies manufacturing restraint chairs. However there are indications that restraint chairs have previously been imported into the EU. According to Safety Restraint Chair Inc., “The restraint chair has been sold across the U.S., in Canada, and internationally in countries like Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and South Korea.”195 [Highlighted 187 United Nations, Conclusions and Recommendations of the Committee against Torture: United States of America. 15/05/2000. CAT/C/24/6. (Concluding Observations/Comments), 24th Session, 1-9 May 2000. 188 Amnesty International, United States of America: Briefing to the Human Rights Committee with respect to its review of the state party’s combined second and third periodic report on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, February 2006, p.38. 189 Amnesty International, USA: Detainees continue to bear costs of delay and lack of remedy, Minimal judicial review for Guantánamo detainees 10 months after Boumediene, 9 April 2009, AI Index: AMR 51/050/20. 190 Leonard, T. Inside Guantanamo Bay: Horrifying pictures show the restraint chairs, feeding tubes and operating theatre used on inmates in terror prison, 27 June 2013, Daily Mail. 191 A nurse at Gitmo refuses to force feed any more prisoners. Others should too, Crider, C. The Guardian, 18 July 2014. 192 Safety Restraint Chair, Inc. website, http://restraintchair.com/index.php (accessed 14 May 2015). 193 Tough U.S. Steps in Hunger Strike at Camp in Cuba, New York Times, 9 February 2006, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/09/ politics/09gitmo.html?pagewanted=all (accessed 17 March 2015) 194 Safety Restraint Chair, Inc. website, http://restraintchair.com/safety-restraint-chair.php (accessed 14 May 2015). 195 Safety Restraint Chair, Inc. company information, http://restraintchair.com/our-company.php (accessed 14 May 2015). Amnesty International May 2015 Index: EUR 01/1632/2015