Europe proposes ban on torture equipment

The European Commission today proposed EU-wide legislation banning the trade of goods designed for torture and executions.

The proposal, which needs the backing of all 25 EU governments, would order countries to impose “strict controls” on those products, as well as on multi-purpose goods that could be used “to inflict torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” the EU executive said in a statement from Brussels.