attempted to justify the practice by claiming that it would diminish the prisoners’ ability to hold objects and Although kinetic impact projectiles are not designed to penetrate the body, if misused, they can often cause therefore prevent them from attacking other prisoners30. serious or even life-threatening injuries including lacerations, broken bones, concussion, head injuries or internal organ damage. The risk of serious injury or death is significantly increased if projectiles are fired at close range or aimed at sensitive parts of the body, e.g. the head, chest or abdomen. The use of kinetic impact projectiles in confined spaces or during public assemblies, meanwhile, significantly increases the risk of bystanders being hit. In Brazil, there have been several reported deaths and serious injuries caused by kinetic impact projectiles being fired from close range and against people posing no threat of violence. On 17th March 2017, for example, a Military Police officer in the State of Pernambuco shot Edvaldo da Silva Alves in the thigh with a kinetic impact projectile from a distance of fewer than five metres during a peaceful protest. Although the projectile was surgically removed from da Silva Alves’ body, he later died of a general infection caused by his injuries32. In a similar incident in 2018, a 37-year-old man was seriously injured by a kinetic impact projectile fired from a distance of 10 metres during a peaceful protest. According to medical reports, the projectile caused an injury to the man’s superficial femoral artery and left a 2cm perforation to his left thigh. In late 2019, a 16-year-old girl lost sight in one eye after being hit by a rubber bullet fired by police while trying to disperse a ‘funk’ party in Guaianases, São Paulo33. According to reports, the party had already been dispersed when the police fired from point-blank range. ▲ Injuries caused by the use of striking weapons photographed by the MNCPT during a monitoring visit, © MNCPT In addition to their abusive use in places of detention, striking weapons have also been misused by Brazilian law enforcement officials in the context of the policing of public protests. In 2017, for example, student Mateus Ferreira da Silva, 33, suffered a traumatic brain injury and multiple fractures and spent 12 days in intensive care after he was struck in the face by a police baton with such force that it caused the baton to break. Ferreira da Silva was attacked during a demonstration in Goiania31. Photographs and videos of the incident which did not appear to show the student acting violently or posing any threat to the officer were later circulated online leading to widespread condemnation of the police officer’s actions. 2.4 Kinetic Impact Projectiles Kinetic impact projectiles (sometimes referred to as rubber bullets or pellets) are designed to enforce compliance and subdue a subject through blunt trauma and pain. Kinetic impact projectiles come in a range of calibers and sizes and can be made of a variety of materials including plastic, rubber, wood and foam. Kinetic ▲ 12-gauge kinetic impact projectiles photographed by MNCPT during a monitoring visit, 2018 © MNCPT impact ammunition can contain both single and multiple projectiles and can be fired from a wide range of weapons, including conventional small arms such as shotguns, pistols and assault rifles, as well as ‘less lethal’ grenade launchers and specialist compressed air launchers. 14  15