during his interrogation by being beaten and hung upside down and kept for extended periods in solitary confinement with his arms and legs in chains at all times.70 In another testimony gathered by the photographer Du Bin, a petitioner71, Hu Xiufen, described her ordeal: “The Masanjia Women’s RTL police tortured me 26 times. They shackled me to the lower and higher levels of a twin-size bunk bed by the diagonally opposed hand and feet so I could neither stand nor sit. Handcuffs squeezed both hands so much the blood could not flow through. I had bruises swollen to the size of steamed buns. It felt as though I was a body being cut into pieces, it was horribly painful. I could not flex my limbs, they were so stiff… They tortured me like this repeatedly for seven days and nights.”72 Even after the official announcement of the closure of the RTL system, irregular detentions with reports of torture persist. Lawyers Zhang Junjie, Tang Jitian, Jiang Tianyong and Wang Cheng were detained at the Daxing District Public Security Bureau in March / April 2014. Tang Jitian claims that during his detention, he was first strapped to an iron chair, slapped in the face, kicked on his legs, and hit so hard over the head with a plastic bottle filled with water that he passed out. He was later hooded and handcuffed behind his back and suspended off the ground by his wrists, while police beat him.73 The three other lawyers were also allegedly tortured. POLICING PROTESTS IN CHINA Public protests have become commonplace across China. The authorities no longer issue official statistics on the number of “mass incidents”. Estimates on the number of such incidents in recent years range from 30,000 to 180,000 per year.74 Demonstrations by Tibetans, Uighurs, Mongolians and other ethnic minorities have been harshly repressed through the use of arbitrary and excessive force by police and other security forces, as have protests against the authorities in cases of forced eviction or expropriation of land.75 The right to freedom of peaceful assembly Article 20(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.” Human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) allow for restrictions of this right which are “imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order… the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others” (Article 21 of the ICCPR).76 However, such restrictions must be narrowly and clearly defined, must be applied only for the purposes for which they were prescribed, must be directly related to the specific need on which they are predicated and above all “may not put in jeopardy the right itself.”77 While policing assemblies, police are required to refrain from using any force unless unavoidable. At the heart of the international human rights standards governing the use of force by police lies the human right to life, enshrined in Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Under UN standards, law enforcement officials are required to “as far as possible, apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force”.78 Under Article 3 of the UN Code for Law Enforcement Officials, police may use force “only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty.” Where the use of force is unavoidable, they must: “Exercise restraint in such use and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offence and the legitimate objective to be achieved”, minimize damage and injury and “Ensure that assistance and medical aid are rendered to any injured or affected persons at the earliest possible moment”.79 Firearms should only be used as a last resort “in self-defence or defence of others against the imminent threat of death or serious injury” or to prevent “a particularly serious crime involving grave threat to life” or “to arrest a person presenting such a danger.”80 20 China’s Trade in Tools of Torture and Repression Amnesty International – Index: ASA 17/042/2014