World
Roger Español Testified in Trial Over Rubber Bullet Shot That Left Him Blind in One Eye
The activist told the Barcelona court that the October 1, 2017 shot was retaliation. Four national police officers are charged in the case, and the Public Prosecutor's Office sought their acquittal.
The Barcelona Court began this Wednesday the trial against four National Police officers over the rubber bullet shot that injured Roger Español during October 1, 2017, near the Ramon Llull school. According to ABC España and La Vanguardia, this is the only case against National Police officers over the police operations that day.
Español testified as a witness and said the shot was a “retaliation” for a prior incident with a riot police officer. According to his account, after being struck on a leg with a baton, he tried to stop an officer from recovering his shield and then threw barriers to obstruct the departure of the police vans. He also acknowledged that one of those barriers hit a police officer.
According to both outlets, the activist was taking part in a sit-in to hinder the advance of the operation. He said he did not hear warnings about the use of rubber bullets and that he was hit when he was already moving toward his home. La Vanguardia added that he had positioned himself next to a group of journalists because he considered it a safer place.
ABC España reported that the presiding judge limited part of the testimony to keep it focused on the act under trial and halted broader references to police conduct at the polling place. During the defense’s questioning of the shotgun officer, the magistrate also asked that a question be rephrased about whether the shots were intended to disperse the crowd.
According to ABC España, Español spent nine days hospitalized at Hospital de Sant Pau and then continued outpatient treatment for two months. He described injuries to his eye, fractures in bones in the area and psychological aftereffects. La Vanguardia noted that the prosecution is seeking prison terms of between nine and 13 years and disqualification for serious injuries, in conjunction with offenses of torture or against moral integrity.
La Vanguardia also indicated that the Public Prosecutor’s Office is acting in this case in favor of the defendants’ acquittal, considering that they acted in the performance of their duty, and that the officers were not granted amnesty because the loss of a main organ falls outside that law. ABC España specified that three of the defendants are being represented by the State Attorney’s Office and the fourth by lawyer Javier Aranda.
After Español’s testimony, a journalist from La Directa said, according to both outlets, that the shot that hit him was not aimed at the ground, as the protocol requires. ABC España reported that the defendants will testify last, on October 1.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not do its own reporting on this event.
