Soldier F found not guilty of murder and attempted murder
ReutersA former member of the Parachute Regiment has been found not guilty of murder and attempted murder in Londonderry on Bloody Sunday more than 50 years ago.
On that day, 30 January 1972, 13 people were shot dead and at least 15 others were injured at a civil rights demonstration in the Bogside area of Derry.
Trooper F, whose anonymity is protected by court order, faces five attempted murder charges in addition to the deaths of 22-year-old James Wray and 26-year-old William McKinney.
The judge said members of the Parachute Regiment shot unarmed civilians as they fled, but the evidence against Troop F fell far short of what was needed for a conviction.
Judge Patrick Lynch told Belfast Crown Court that members of the Parachute Regiment who entered Glenfada Park North had “completely lost any sense of military discipline”.
The judge said they shot “unarmed civilians who were fleeing from them in the streets of a British city”.
“Those responsible should hang their heads in shame,” he said.
The public gallery was filled with friends and families of those killed and injured on Bloody Sunday; Many people were setting out from Derry early in the morning, and there were also supporters of Troop F.
Speaking outside court, Mickey McKinney, whose brother William was shot dead, said the families were filled with “an incredible sense of pride” despite the verdict.
Liam Wray, whose brother Jim was also killed, said it had been a “difficult, sad and emotional” day, adding that although “justice was not served” he “appreciated the difficulties the judge faced in the case”.
“Takes you back to the horror [Bloody Sunday]”he said.”[To] “Jim’s injuries, the situation, the fear, the terror.”
Lawyer Ciarán Shiels, who represents some of the Bloody Sunday families, said Soldier F was “the most protected serial killer in British legal history”.
“He enjoyed every comfort a victim should have,” he added.
Those near Bloody Sunday who traveled to Belfast for the verdict returned to Derry’s Bogside on Thursday afternoon.
A brief moment of silence was observed at the monument near the spot where scores of victims were killed 53 years ago.
Northern Ireland veterans’ commissioner David Johnstone said the hearing was focused on what was still caused by the “profoundly painful” events of 50 years ago.
He said the Bloody Sunday families and all families who lost relatives in the Troubles, “continue to experience pain”, adding “we should not forget that today”.
Speaking outside the court, Paul Young, of the Northern Ireland Veterans Movement, said soldiers who served “with honor and courage” in Northern Ireland were being “pursued” but would be “encouraged” by the verdicts.
According to the director of public prosecutions in Northern Ireland, the case involved “complex legal and evidentiary issues”.
Stephen Herron said these “challenges have been recognized by the courts” regarding decisions about who to prosecute over Bloody Sunday.
He added: “Our thoughts today are primarily with the Wray and McKinney families, those injured, and the loved ones of those killed and injured on Bloody Sunday.”
What was the reaction to Soldier F’s acquittal?
First Minister Michelle O’Neill said it was “deeply disappointing” that the families of Bloody Sunday faced “continuous denial of justice”.
“For more than fifty years they have campaigned honorably and determinedly for justice for their loved ones, for the sons they held dear, and for the justice of their fathers, uncles and brothers,” the Sinn Féin deputy leader said. he said.
Foyle Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP) MP Colum Eastwood said it was a “difficult day” for the Bloody Sunday families but they could “hold their heads up”.
“It is absolutely clear that soldiers, including Troop F, shot and killed people on Bloody Sunday,” Eastwood said.
“These were innocent people, they had no weapons, they were just mowed down by the British Army’s Parachute Regiment on a civil rights march. That’s what happened, and that’s absolutely clear.”
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Gavin Robinson welcomed the “common sense decision” but said the trial had been a “painful and protracted process”.
“There needs to be a better way to deal with the legacy of the past and ensure it is not rewritten,” he said.
Other unionists also criticized the prosecution – Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister said the acquittal raised “the fundamental question of why this veteran was put through this ordeal”, while Ulster Unionist councilor Doug Beattle described it as an “indicator trial”.
However, the chief commissioner of the institution that deals with old cases in Northern Ireland rejected these claims.
Sir Declan Morgan told The View from BBC News NI He said the judge’s rejection of numerous defense applications to dismiss the case showed that the case “was not hopeless from the start.”
“If that were the case, the judge would accept the defense application,” he added.
Sir Declan, chief commissioner of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), also said it would be wrong to assume that justice would not be served because of the passage of time.
He noted advances in forensic evidence that have allowed some cases to become “candidates for prosecution.”
The government said it noted Thursday’s decision, adding that the Ministry of Defense (MoD) had “provided legal and social support throughout”.
“We are determined to find a way forward that acknowledges the past while supporting those who served their country during an incredibly difficult period in Northern Ireland’s history,” a spokesman said.
Who is Soldier F?
Trooper F is the only military veteran to be prosecuted in connection with the shootings.
The five attempted murder charges involve two teenagers, then-16-year-old Joe Mahon and 17-year-old Michael Quinn, as well as 20-year-old Joseph Friel and 41-year-old Patrick O’Donnell and an unidentified person.
The case was heard by a judge sitting without a jury at Belfast Crown Court and lasted five weeks.
Soldier F was kept in public view by court order to protect his identity and his name was not disclosed.
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.
PPS after two years dropped the case After the collapse of the trial of two other veterans accused of a murder in Belfast in 1972.
But prosecution resumes in 2022 after a legal battle.
