Protest by Chilean woman blinded by police fire

A woman in Chile who lost both eyes after she was hit by a tear gas canister staged a protest Friday outside police headquarters in the capital Santiago.

Fabiola Campillai, now 36, was left completely blind when the canister struck her on the forehead in November 2019. She also suffered a brain injury and fractures to her face.

The incident happened as she was on her way to work. Earlier, police had clashed with demonstrators in her neighbourhood.

Speaking during Friday's protest outside police headquarters, Campillai said she had had a meeting with the director of national police about the case, but hadn't received a satisfactory response.

She said the police officer who fired the canister was under house arrest on full pay.

Chile experienced months of unrest in 2019 and hundreds of people were injured during clashes with police. Many suffered permanent eye damage. Police faced widespread accusations of brutality in their treatment of the demonstrators.