Bloody Sunday Families Reject Decision to Charge Only One Soldier

The families of those who died in the 1972 Bloody Sunday killings in Derry are to challenge a legal decision not to prosecute any more former soldiers in connection with the shootings. Relatives expressed dismay after a review by the Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service (PPS), published on Tuesday, confirmed that only one former member of the Parachute Regiment, known as Soldier F, should face charges. Kate Nash, whose brother William was shot dead during the civil rights demonstration 48 years ago, said prosecutors should have considered whether up to 15 soldiers could have been charged under joint enterprise laws.

In March last year, after examining evidence from police inquiries after the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, the PPS announced that only one soldier would be charged. Relatives of the victims then exercised their right for a review of that process. On Tuesday, having carried out an internal reassessment, the PPS upheld the original decision. Marianne O’Kane, a senior assistant director, said: “The available evidence is insufficient to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction of any of the 15 soldiers who were the subjects of the reviews. Accordingly, the decisions not to prosecute these 15 individuals all stand. “I can only offer reassurance to all of the families and victims of Bloody Sunday, and the wider community, that my decisions were conducted wholly independently and impartially, and in accordance with the code for prosecutors.” Soldier F is one of the 15 whose cases were reviewed. Kane said: “The prosecution that commenced against him in 2019, which relates to two charges of murder and five charges of attempted murder, continues.”

Read more, Owen Bowcott, Guardian, https://is.gd/6eh6Fp