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Amnesty executive officer David Nichols, who co-authored the report, says E.U. governments are failing to live up to their responsibilities. "There does not appear to be any political will to deal with this problem and close the loopholes," he says. "The 2006 rules were a landmark move to counter torture, but the E.U. isn't doing enough to make sure they work properly." (See pictures of the global financial crisis...
Only a few manufacturers are named in the report. An official at one company known to produce such items, the Belgian firm Sirien, denied any wrongdoing in an interview with TIME. Sirien makes products like electric-shock stun shields and S-200 projectile stun guns - devices that export manager Erwin Lafosse insists save lives. "If you want to ban electroshock pistols, then policemen will have to use firearms to defend themselves," he says. "The problem with Amnesty International is that they only see the bad side to everything. Yes, these can be used to torture someone...
Frank Coll, head of another firm in Spain called Nidec, which was named in the report, says his company removed its stun cuffs from its website after receiving a letter from Amnesty International alerting it to the new law in 2006. "That was the end of the story for us - we have not sold this item at all," he says. (See TIME's coverage of the 2010 World Economic Forum...
...report is alarming politicians enough for the European Parliament to intervene: members are expected to raise the issue at the body's next session in April. "The E.U.'s inaction is unacceptable and I'm bitterly disappointed," says British M.P. Richard Howitt. "It's complacency: the E.U.'s member states and institutions have taken their eye off the ball." Heidi Hautala, who chairs the parliament's subcommittee on human rights, has also pledged to force the E.U. member states to close the loopholes. "E.U. governments simply failed to take the rules seriously enough," she says. "It is shameful...
...Keukeleire is hopeful that the mood is changing, in part thanks to Amnesty's report. "At least now there is more of a recognition of the problem. But it will take time...