“PUNCHED, KICKED AND STRUCK WITH TRUNCHEONS” During its field mission in 2017, a delegation from the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) documented numerous cases of the misuse of truncheons for torture and other illtreatment in places of detention in Azerbaijan. A. E., interviewed by the delegation at Zabrat Pre-trial Detention Facility on 24 October 2017, claimed he had been struck on his head with truncheons upon arrest in the port of the city of Lenkoran on 10 October 2017. According to the CPT, “He was then taken to Police Station No. 1 in Lenkoran and reportedly punched, kicked and struck with truncheons while he was handcuffed behind his back. He stated that he had been thrown on the ground and struck approximately 50 times with truncheons on the soles of his feet (falaka) and over his back, as a result of which he had lost consciousness. The purpose of the torture was reportedly to make him confess to a series of criminal offences. He told the delegation that he still suffered from constant headaches and impaired vision in his right eye.”22 1.2.2 RESTRAINTS Commonplace restraints, such as ordinary handcuffs, are often misused for torture and other illtreatment in places of detention, in many instances in conjunction with other policing equipment such as truncheons or electric shock batons. HANDCUFFED TO FIXED OBJECTS Following a mission to Ukraine in 2017, the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) reported: “In different regions, the delegation once again received a number of allegations from detained persons that they had been held in local police stations in the offices of operational police officers, on a stool or chair, whilst being handcuffed to fixed objects and without being offered anything to eat or drink, for periods ranging from a few hours to three days.”23 In 2019, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture reported that “several allegations were also received of excessive use of force at the time of or immediately following apprehension [by police], including kicks and truncheon blows after the apprehended person had been placed face down on the ground and handcuffed, of unduly tight handcuffing during transportation.”24 1.2.3 CHEMICAL IRRITANTS Chemical irritants are substances that produce sensory irritation and pain in the eyes and upper respiratory tract. They can also cause inflammation of the mucous membranes, including in the respiratory tract. The chemicals most commonly used are the irritant agents CN or CS – often called tear gas – and the inflammatory agents OC/Pepper or PAVA – often called pepper spray. Chemical irritants are generally delivered through aerosol sprays, hand-thrown grenades, weapon launched projectiles, as well as via water cannon. 22 CPT, Report to the Azerbaijani Government on the visit to Azerbaijan carried out by the CPT from 23 to 30 October 2017, 18 July 2018, rm.coe.int/16808c5e46 23 CPT, Report to the Ukrainian Government carried out by the CPT from 8 to 21 December 2017, 6 September 2018, rm.coe. int/16808d2c2a 24 UN, Visit to Ukraine: Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Human Rights Council, UN Doc. A/HRC/ 40/59/Add.3, 17 January 2019. ENDING THE TORTURE TRADE THE PATH TO GLOBAL CONTROLS ON THE ‘TOOLS OF TORTURE’ Amnesty International | Omega Research Foundation 13