Police officer awarded €700,000 compensation for injury during Abdeslam raid

Salah Abdeslam and Sofien Ayari, Belgian residents involved in the November 2015 terrorist attack in Paris, have been ordered to pay almost €700,000 in compensation to a special units police officer injured during a search in Forest.

Both were sentenced in 2018 to 20 years in prison for attempted murder in a terrorist context, namely the shooting in rue du Dries in Forest on 15 March 2016.

During the search of the apartment, which they believed had been abandoned by the terrorist cell, the police came under fire. A bullet bounced off the helmet of a special teams member to tear off a piece of his ear and cause an optic nerve injury that cost him his eyesight and his sense of balance.

The seriously injured policeman was in a civil suit in 2018 which has now concluded with the sentencing.

The court detailed all the amounts that Abdeslam and Ayari will have to pay the policeman, which comes to slightly less than €700,000, excluding interest.

As the parties are insolvent, the police officer will likely have to apply to the Compensation Fund for Victims of Intentional Violence.

Photo: Igor Preys/Belga