Soldier F trial judge rejects bid to dismiss case

A judge has rejected a bid to dismiss the case against Troop F, accused of killing two people on Bloody Sunday in Londonderry in January 1972.

Troop F, who denies all charges, is on trial at Belfast Crown Court for the murders of 22-year-old James Wray and 26-year-old William McKinney.

They were among 13 people shot dead by the Parachute Regiment at a civil rights demonstration in the Bogside area of ​​the city. He is also charged with five counts of attempted murder.

The veteran’s lawyers had filed a motion that Troop F had no case to answer, arguing that key witness statements were unreliable and could potentially lead to an unsafe conviction.

However, Judge Patrick Lynch rejected the application. The decision means Soldier F’s case continues.

The decision came after Soldier F’s lawyers applied for the case to be dismissed based on the statements given by Soldier G and Soldier H at the time.

The prosecution said the statements of Soldier G, who is now dead, and Soldier H, who refused to testify, were crucial, but the defense argued they were “fundamentally flawed.”

Judge Lynch said he listened “very carefully” to two days of legal arguments regarding the rejection of the plea.

He said that he had reviewed his previous decision that the statements of Soldier G and Soldier H were admissible as evidence and that this decision was valid.

“I decline to find a verdict of not guilty on that basis,” he said.

He then asked the defense to present its case.

Mark Mulholland KC, representing Trooper F, said his client would not testify.

The case is heard by a judge sitting without a jury.

The trial continues.

Troop F is a former British soldier who served with the Army’s Parachute Regiment in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

His name cannot be given due to a temporary court order ensuring his anonymity.

The decision to charge Soldier F was taken by the Prosecutor’s Office in 2019.

He was one of 18 ex-servicemen reported to the PPS as a result of a police investigation following Lord Saville’s public inquiry into Bloody Sunday.

But he was the only one accused.

Two years later PPS dropped the case After the collapse of the trial of two other veterans accused of a murder in Belfast in 1972.

However, prosecution resumed in 2022 after a legal battle.