UK - 40 years on, Bloody Sunday investigation into soldiers' killings of 13 civilians

[wfgodot]

Bloody Sunday deaths: Police to launch a murder inquiry
40 years after 13 people were shot dead by soldiers (Daily Mail)

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The investigation follows a report by Lord Saville, published in June 2010, after a 12-year inquiry.

It blamed the Army for one of the most controversial days in Northern Ireland’s history.

Key findings included:

• No warning had been given to any civilians before the soldiers opened fire
• None of the soldiers fired in response to attacks by petrol bombers or stone throwers
• Some of those killed or injured were clearly fleeing or going to help those injured or dying
• None of the casualties was posing a threat or doing anything that would justify their shooting
• Many of the soldiers lied about their actions
• Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness of Sinn Fein, was present at the time of the violence and 'probably armed with a sub-machine gun' but did not engage in 'any activity that provided any of the soldiers with any justification for opening fire'
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much more, with pictures and a timeline, at link above

 

[JerseyGirl]

Almost half a century after the 1972 Bloody Sunday killings inflamed Northern Ireland’s Troubles, prosecutors in Derry will this week announce whether any Parachute Regiment soldiers should face trial for murder.

Bloody Sunday: Derry awaits decision on possible murder trial

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The trial of an ex-paratrooper on trial for two killings in the “Bloody Sunday” unrest is highly divisive
in a province haunted by the legacy of conflict. — AFP​

The emblematic case is being heard in Londonderry, the city where the killings took place, and is highly divisive in a province haunted by the legacy of conflict.

British troops opened fire on a civil rights demonstration in the Northern Irish city of Londonderry on January 30, 1972 killing 13 people.

A 14th victim later died of his wounds.

The day has become one of the most symbolic in the grim history of the Troubles — the sectarian unrest which gripped the British province of Northern Ireland.

In addition to two murder charges, the ex-paratrooper, identified only as “Soldier F”, faces charges of the attempted murder of four others.

“It’s still an ongoing campaign,“ John Kelly — whose 17-year-old brother Michael was killed on Bloody Sunday — told AFPlast month.

“What people want is truth and justice.”

The Northern Ireland Veterans Association, which held a memorial event to mark the 50th anniversary of British military intervention earlier this year, said its members were “concerned” about such prosecutions.

“We need to learn to deal with our past,“ said NIVA spokesman Ian Simpson.

“We need to move forward together and have an understanding of what it meant.” — AFP
Court hearing for Bloody Sunday ex-soldier murder trial

 

[SevenSeas]

Karma never loses an address.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Former British soldier Dennis Hutchings rides with ex-serviceman down Whitehall in protest at the prosecution of Soldier F for two killings during the Bloody Sunday massacre. Photograph: Tess De La Mare/PA Wire

Soldier F, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is the only person from the 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment ever to face trial over the deaths of 13 civil rights protesters and one passerby in Derry in January 1972.

He is charged with the murder of William McKinney (27) and 22-year-old James Wray, and the attempted murder of four other men – Joseph Friel, Michael Quinn, Joe Mahon and Patrick O’Donnell.

He faces a final charge of “attempted murder of a person or persons unknown”.

Demonstrators gather in Parliament Square, London, as part of a protest against the prosecution of one of the soldiers involved in the Bloody Sunday massacre. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA Wire

Of 26 prosecution cases brought since 2011 involving legacy issues, 21 involved republican and loyalist paramilitaries, recent research showed. – PA
Thousands protest in London against prosecution of Bloody Sunday soldier

 

[JerseyGirl]

Up to 25 witnesses may be called in Soldier F trial

 

[JerseyGirl]

No trial for British soldier charged over "Bloody Sunday" killings

The only British soldier charged with murder over the "Bloody Sunday" killings of 13 unarmed Catholic civil rights marchers in Northern Ireland in 1972 will not face trial, prosecutors said on Friday.

The decision angered victims' families, who said they would seek a judicial review, underlining the bitterness still felt nearly 50 years after the worst single shooting incident of “The Troubles” -- three decades of sectarian violence involving Irish nationalists seeking a united Ireland and pro-British forces.