Only one former paratrooper is to be charged in connection with the killings of civil rights protestors in Northern Ireland on Bloody Sunday in 1972.
Seventeen men in total had been awaiting news of if they would stand trial for the blood shed on one of the bleakest days of The Troubles, when 13 civil rights demonstrators were shot dead on January 30.
The decision, announced by Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service, will see Soldier F face prosecution for the murders of James Wray and William McKinney and the attempted murders of Joseph Friel, Michael Quinn, Joe Mahon and Patrick O’Donnell.
Sixteen other veterans and two ex-members of the Official IRA, all of whom were investigated, will not face prosecution.
Solicitor for a number of the families of those killed, Ciaran Shiels, told the Press Association the announcement was “a remarkable achievement by the families and victims of Bloody Sunday” but added: “We are disappointed that not all of those responsible are to face trial.”
Relatives emerged in a sombre mood from the City Hotel where they were staying while awaiting the decision.
As one reporter asked “Is this justice?” one replied: “No comment.”
Mickey McKinney, whose brother Willie was shot dead, said: “Everyone deserves justice, including those whose loved ones were murdered by the British state.”
He said it was “disappointing” for families who had not received news of prosecutions, saying: “We are mindful of those families who received that news today, and believe me, there are many.”
But he added: “For us here today it is important to point out that justice for one family is justice for all of us.”
The killings in 1972 happened after soldiers were sent into the Bogside housing estate in Derry, to deal with riots which broke out after a march to protest against internment.
As well as the 13 who died, a total of 15 others were shot and injured. One of the injured died months later from an inoperable tumour, and is considered by some as the 14th fatality.
Grainne Teggart, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland Campaigns Manager, said in a statement:
“It is right that Soldier F must now face justice for the shootings. However, with fourteen civilians dead and only one prosecution, today’s announcement means that many of those responsible for the shootings will likely never be held accountable.
“With justice obstructed and delayed for so long, justice has now been denied to many of the families. No-one should be able to get away with murder.”
A public inquiry conducted by a senior judge shortly after the deaths was branded a whitewash by the dead victims’ families, who began a campaign for a new investigation. Families of the dead sought to right false claims that their loved ones had been armed.
A fresh investigation was eventually ordered by then-prime minister Tony Blair in 1998.
A decade-long investigation by Lord Saville of Newdigate concluded that the troops killed peaceful protesters and seriously criticised the decision to send them into the Bogside estate in vehicles.
Following the inquiry’s conclusion in 2010, former PM David Cameron said the killings were unjustified and unjustifiable.
An investigation by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) followed the £195m inquiry, and files on 18 soldiers were submitted to prosecutors in 2016 and 2017 for consideration. One former soldier has since died.
Four other soldiers included in the Saville Report died before police had completed their investigation.
