Simon Hunter
A JUDGE in Spain has shelved a case that had been brought against three riot police officers in Barcelona, after they fired projectiles during disturbances that caused a young woman to lose an eye. The victim must ‘bear the consequences’ for having ‘placed herself in danger’, the magistrate ruled.
The incident took place on February 16, 2021, during demonstrations to protest against the imprisonment of a rapper called Pablo Hasel after he was found guilty of insulting the Spanish monarchy and praising terrorism, among other offences.
During the disturbances, foam projectiles were fired by the police into the crowds. One of them struck the woman, who was 18 years old at the time, leaving her with injuries that eventually saw her lose an eye.
She was among a group of around 300 or 400 people on the scene, who ‘put themselves in a situation of danger’, according to the judge’s findings, as reported by Spanish daily El Pais.
The judge investigating the case did not find any intentional actions on the part of the three police officers facing criminal charges. They were members of the regional Mossos d’Esquadra force: two of them were riflemen and the other their superior.
The magistrate investigating the case also justified the ‘proportionality’ of their actions given the ‘extraordinary violence’ of the demonstrators, who caused serious damage to the stores in Barcelona’s Paseo de Gracia during their protests.
The young woman’s lawyer has already filed an appeal against the shelving of the case, which he described as being ‘abhorrent’.
They’d be dead if she was a member of my family.