Bobigny, France:
A French court on Thursday ordered the state to pay more than €100,000 to a protester who lost an eye after being shot with a rubber bullet by a police officer in 2009.
An administrative court in Montreuil, just outside Paris, ordered the state to pay 105,350 euros ($112,000) to Joachim Gatti. Gatti’s lawyers had asked for more than 500,000 euros.
His injury had prevented him from pursuing his previous profession as a cameraman and editor because of the effect it had on his eyesight, the court ruling said.
It also limited the jobs he could retrain for, it added. Gatti has since found part-time work as a cook and teacher.
The controversial weapon used against Gatti fires a “flashball”, a type of rubber bullet, and has since caused similar injuries at other demonstrations.
The police officer who fired the gun that struck Gatti was convicted on appeal in 2018 and given an 18-month suspended prison sentence.
Gatti was injured on July 8, 2009, when police cleared a squat in Montreuil and dispersed protesters gathered in front of the building.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
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