Amnesty denied to police who shot out referendum voter's eye with rubber bullet

The Court of Barcelona has refused to grant amnesty to the National Police officers prosecuted for shooting out Roger Español's eye with a rubber bullet on the day of the Catalan independence referendum on October 1, 2017.

The court considers that the injury is serious and is not covered by the law on criminal oblivion.

On the other hand, the court did grant amnesty to Español, who was charged with public disorder for throwing a fence at the officers.

The court sees fit to go ahead with the trial against four police officers in the case of Español's eye, considering that "there are sufficient indications of criminality."

In its resolution, the Barcelona Court recalls that the amnesty law excludes cases of malicious acts against people that could have resulted in death, abortion or injury to fetus, loss or uselessness of an organ or limb, loss or uselessness of a sense, impotence, sterility or serious deformity, and therefore refuses to apply it to the four police officers involved in the Roger Español case.

The prosecutor's office had requested that the officers be amnestied and also that the case be closed, considering they "did their duty."

Meanwhile, Español and private prosecutors from human rights group Irídia, Òmnium Cultural, and the Catalan National Assembly demanded that the officers be tried.

The police officers who will now go on trial are: the agent who injured Español (officer number UC563), an inspector (UC50 and the head of the Camel 50 group), another officer (UC51) and a sub-inspector (UC54), who made up the chain of command that was on Carrer Sardenya in Barcelona, ​​where Español was injured.

Rubber bullets are banned in Catalonia but are still used by state police forces. 

44 pro-independence figures

Since it came into force, the amnesty law has slowly been pardoning figures related to the Catalan independence push, from police officers to pro-independence supporters.

On Wednesday, a judge pardoned 44 pro-independence figures at once, the second-highest number of pardons at a time, after in the past dozens of police officers had been granted an amnesty.

The law, which became a reality after a deal between pro-independence Junts party and the Socialists to see the Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez reelected, has been in place since June.

A court in Granollers shelved the case against them, facing charges on public disorder, vandalism against heritage, and disrupting road safety. They blocked the C-17 highway on October 19, 2019 after the Supreme Court sentenced several pro-independence leaders to prison.