€69k compensation proposed for woman injured by foam bullet during 2019 protests
Police used disproportionate force during pro-independence demonstrations, Catalan government lawyers say
The Catalan government's Legal Advisory Commission has concluded that the Catalan police Mossos d'Esquadra acted disproportionately during one of the demonstrations against the sentencing of pro-independence leaders in autumn 2019.
The lawyers' report states that one of the foam bullets fired by the Anti-Riot Brigade (Brimo, Brigada Mòbil) hit one woman's head in an area where there were no disturbances, as first reported by El País newspaper and confirmed by the Catalan News Agency (ACN).
The victim, who suffered a traumatic brain injury, an 80% loss of hearing in one ear and now suffers from chronic epilepsy, should receive €69,000 in compensation from the Catalan government, according to the report.
However, lawyers for the Spanish Interior Ministry are currently reviewing the decision and are inclined to reduce the compensation to €30,000, arguing that the woman acted imprudently by staying in the area close to the riots.
The incident took place on the night of 18 October, the fifth day of the protests, near the Jardinets de Gràcia area of Barcelona.
In October 2019, four people were blinded in one eye and emergency services treated 579 people throughout Catalonia who were injured in the unrest that broke out after the Supreme Court announced it was sentencing 9 independence leaders to up to 13 years in prison for sedition.