Soldier F found not guilty of murder and attempted murder

A former member of the Parachute Regiment was found not guilty of murder and attempted murder in Londonderry on Bloody Sunday 1972.

Thirteen people were shot and at least 15 others injured on Bloody Sunday in January 1972 at a civil rights demonstration in the Bogside area of ​​Derry.

Trooper F, whose anonymity is protected by a court order, faces charges of murdering James Ray, 22, and William McKinney, 26, as well as five counts of attempted murder.

The judge said members of the Parachute Regiment shot unarmed civilians as they fled, but the evidence against Soldier F fell well short of what was required for a conviction.

Judge Patrick Lynch told Belfast Crown Court that members of the Parachute Regiment who entered Glenfada Park North on Bloody Sunday had “totally lost their sense of military discipline”.

According to the judge, they shot “unarmed civilians fleeing from them in the streets of a British city.

“Those responsible should hang their heads in shame,” he said.

Speaking outside court, William McKinney’s brother Mickey said the sentences marked “the end of the prosecution of Soldier F for the murder and attempted murder of innocents on Bloody Sunday”.

“The families and those injured and their supporters leave this courthouse with an incredible sense of pride in our accomplishments,” he said.

Liam Rae, Jim Rae’s brother, welcomed the judge’s criticism of the soldiers on Bloody Sunday, adding it had been a “difficult, sad and emotional” day for the family.

He said justice had not been served but that he “appreciated the difficulties the judge faced in the case”.

“It brings you back to the horror of (Bloody Sunday),” he said, to “the wounds that Jim had, the situation, the fear, the horror.”

Northern Ireland Veterans Affairs Commissioner David Johnstone said the trial brought into focus the “deep pain” the events of 50 years ago still caused.

He said the families of Bloody Sunday and all families who lost relatives during the Troubles “continue to feel pain”, adding that “we must not forget that today”.

Speaking outside the court, Paul Young of the Northern Ireland Veterans Movement said UK veterans who served in Northern Ireland with “honour and courage” would be “encouraged” by the sentences.

“Soldiers have been prosecuted, elderly soldiers have been prosecuted and I remember Dennis Hutchings who was here in this same court and died trying to clear his name,” Mr Young said.

Mr Hutchings died in October 2021 while on trial for the fatal shooting of John Pat Cunningham in County Tyrone in 1974.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill said it was “deeply disappointing” that Bloody Sunday families were facing a “continued denial of justice”.

“For more than five decades they have campaigned with dignity and resilience for justice for their loved ones, their deeply cherished sons and fathers, uncles and brothers,” Sinn Fein’s deputy leader said.

She added: “I express my full solidarity with the families and the wider Derry community who will be hurt today.”

Foyle SDP Labor MP Colm Eastwood said it was a “difficult day” for families on Bloody Sunday, but said they could “hold their heads high”.

“It is absolutely clear that these soldiers, including Soldier F, shot and killed people on Bloody Sunday,” Eastwood said.

“These were innocent people, unarmed, just on a civil rights march, mowed down by the British Army’s Parachute Regiment. It happened and that’s absolutely clear.

“Now everyone knows what happened on Bloody Sunday,” he added. “Everyone knows the victims are innocent and everyone knows where the blame really lies.”

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Gavin Robinson said he welcomed a “common sense judgement”.

Robinson said the process had been a “painful and lengthy process.”

“There has to be a better way of dealing with the legacy of the past and ensuring that it is not rewritten,” he said.

Doug Beattie of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) said questions should be asked about how the case came to an inquest when “the evidence is so clearly flawed”.

“And again, those who work in our justice system have to answer questions … no doubt they would know that evidence is dangerous and cannot be relied upon in a court of law,” Beattie said.

Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) MP Jim Allister said the acquittal of Soldier F was “very welcome” but also “raises the fundamental question of why this veteran has been put through the ordeal over the past few years”.

Conservative shadow defense secretary James Cartledge said he was aware of the pain caused by the troubles in Northern Ireland, but said the verdict in the trial of soldier F “F should now draw a line under this long running case”.

“I hope we can persuade the government to recognize the issues raised by cases that rely on evidence from half a century ago,” Cartledge added.

The British government said it noted Thursday’s decision, adding that the Ministry of Defense (MO) had “provided legal and social support throughout”.

“This case is part of the complex legacy of the Troubles which affected so many families and communities.

“We are committed to finding 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 government spokesman said.

A public inquiry that ended in 2010 found that none of those killed posed a threat to the army.

Soldier F is the only military veteran to stand trial for the shooting.

The five charges of attempted murder relate to two teenagers at the time – 16-year-old Joe Mahon and 17-year-old Michael Quinn, as well as Joseph Friel, who is 20, and Patrick O’Donnell, 41, and an unknown person.

The case was heard by a judge without a jury at Belfast Crown.

The trial began on September 15 and lasted five weeks.

To protect his identity, Soldier F has been withheld from publicity and his name has not been released as a result of a court order.

The decision to charge Soldier F was made by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) in 2019.

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

But he was the only one accused.

Two years later PPS drop the case after the failure of the trial of two other veterans who were accused of murder in 1972 in Belfast.

But on prosecution resumed in 2022 after a legal challenge.