A District Judge in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, Ted Magill, has ruled that the sole British soldier, known as “Soldier F”, currently facing charges related to the 1972 “Bloody Sunday” massacre, will be tried for murder. During the Bloody Sunday incident, 13 people were killed and 14 were injured when British paratroopers opened fire on a civil rights demonstration in Londonderry.
Evidence suggests that the soldiers fired 108 rounds that day. The event sparked widespread condemnations, even leading to the burning of the British Embassy in Dublin. An ensuing inquiry that exonerated the British forces of any wrongdoing fueled more ire from victims’ families. Consequently, the Saville Inquiry was set up, which found that none of the victims posed a threat and no warning was given before the soldiers opened fire.
While initial charges against Soldier F were dropped due to perceived insufficient evidence, Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service resumed prosecution in September 2022 following multiple legal challenges. Soldier F now faces prosecution for the murder of William McKinney and James Wray as well as the attempted murder of five other people. If the case proceeds, Soldier F will stand trial at the Crown Court.
Earlier, Judge Magill had accepted hearsay evidence from five former paratroopers, establishing that Soldier F purportedly discharged a weapon at the scene of the murders.
The long-awaited decision to prosecute Soldier F has elicited a variety of responses. Head of the Bloody Sunday Trust, Tony Doherty, expressed both frustration at the length of time it has taken to reach this point and relief at the progress. His father, Patrick Doherty, was one of the victims of Bloody Sunday.
More information can be found in the original article here.