Rosa Peral, sentenced to 25 years in prison as co-author of the May 2017 assassination of her companion and colleague from the Barcelona Urban Guard, Pedro Rodríguez, presented a civil trial against the producer of the series “The Body on Fire”, Arcadia Motion Pictures and the Netflix platform, against whom he claims 30 million euros.
This is what ‘El Periódico’ claims and this was confirmed to Europa Press by its lawyer, Núria González, who clarified that she had filed a complaint considering that the fiction not only violates protection of the right to honor, image and privacy of each person of Peral, but also of his daughter, a minor, who is represented.
The lawyer explained that, taking into account that until May this year, the series had been watched 26.6 million hours worldwide – an average of 3.32 million hours per month -, they decided to demand one euro for every hour played for the girl for moral damage and 10 cents for Peral “for the image given of her as a mother”.
The lawsuit claims that Peral became the unwitting protagonist of a series in which she appears played by Úrsula Corberó, an actress who resembles her, making her “totally recognizable and identifiable to the viewer” and let us remember that she never waived her image rights nor gave her consent for one of her daughters, a minor, to be represented.
For this reason, in August 2023, Peral requested to watch the series before its premiere, for which she claimed not to have been informed of the production of the aforementioned fiction, which, according to the formula “based on real events”recounts the case for which the complainant is serving a sentence in Mas d’Enric prison (Tarragona).
On September 4, Netflix released the promotional video for the series in which the character representing the miner appears, performing actions “completely false” so that the spectator perceives that his statement at the trial – in which he did not actually participate – was the main evidence to convict his mother.
The next day, González filed a lawsuit for precautionary measures stop series premiere for violation of the fundamental right to honor, privacy and image of Peral and his minor daughters, but in September 2023 the Court of First Instance 2 of Vilanova i la Geltrú rejected it. The lawyer then filed an appeal before the Barcelona Provincial Court, which, in April 2024, revoked and annulled the decision appealing.
Image of a “negligent” mother
However, the Court of First Instance number 6 of Vilanova i la Geltrú «again denied the precautionary measure without carrying out any procedure in this regard and without summoning the parties”, which contravenes what was dictated by the higher judicial instance, according to the lawsuit.
For this reason, Peral decided to file a new lawsuit, in which he claims that the series could have been made without involving a minorfor whom he claims 26.6 million for psychological damage, while for her, he asks for 2.66 million for having presented her as a “negligent” and violent mother.
