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Only British Soldier charged in 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre to learn his fate on Friday northern ireland Courtroom.
Judge Patrick Lynch is due to deliver his verdict at Belfast Crown Court on whether the former paratrooper, identified as Soldier F, committed murder and attempted murder in the deadliest shooting of the three decades of sectarian violence known as “The Troubles”.
Prosecutors said the lance corporal, who has not been named to protect against reprisals, killed two people and tried to kill five others when he and other soldiers fired on fleeing unarmed civilians on January 20, 1972. LondonderryWhich is also known as dairy.
Thirteen people were killed and 15 injured in the incident, which symbolized the conflict between predominantly Catholic supporters of a united Ireland and predominantly Protestant forces who wanted to remain part of the United Kingdom.
Although violence largely ended with the Good Friday Peace Agreement of 1998, tensions remain. Family Many of the civilians killed are pressing for justice, while supporters of army veterans complain that their losses have been downplayed and they have been unfairly targeted in the investigation.
Constable F, who was veiled in court, did not testify in his own defense and his lawyer presented no evidence. The soldier told police during a 2016 interview that he had no “reliable memory” of the events of that day, but was confident that he had properly discharged his duties as a soldier.
Defense attorney Mark Mulholland attacked the prosecution’s case as “fundamentally flawed and weak”, citing his reliance on soldiers he labeled as “fraudulents and liars”, and the hazy memories of survivors who struggled to survive being shot by what some had mistakenly believed to be rubber bullet rounds.
Surviving witnesses spoke of confusion, chaos and terror as soldiers opened fire and bodies began falling after a large civil rights march in the city.
The prosecution relied on the statements of two of Soldier F’s comrades – Soldier G, who is dead, and Soldier H, who refused to testify. The defense tried unsuccessfully to exclude hearsay statements as they could not be cross-examined.
Prosecutor Lewis Mabli argued that the soldiers, without any justification, opened fire with intent to kill and thus shared responsibility for the casualties.
The killings were an embarrassment to the British government, which initially claimed that members of the Parachute Regiment had fired in self-defense after being attacked by gunmen and people throwing fuel bombs.
A formal investigation cleared the soldiers of responsibility, but a subsequent and longer review in 2010 found that the soldiers shot fleeing unarmed civilians and then covered up and lied for decades.
then prime minister David Cameron Apologized and said the killings were “unfair and unjust”.
The 2010 findings cleared the way for the eventual prosecution of Soldier F, although delays and setbacks prevented it from coming to trial until last month.
Soldier F has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder for the deaths of 22-year-old James Ray and 27-year-old William McKinney and five counts of attempted murder for the shootings of Joseph Friel, Michael Quinn, Joe Mahone, Patrick O’Donnell and others for opening fire on unarmed civilians.