THE FIRST arrest of a British soldier in connection with the new Bloody Sunday inquiry has been met with approval by the family of one of the victims.
Jean Hegarty, whose brother Kevin McElhinney died aged 17 in the attack, described the arrest as progress.
“It’s been a long time coming,” she added.
A 66-year-old former military man was arrested on November 10 by officers from the PSNI’s Legacy Investigation Branch (LIB) in Co. Antrim.
He was held at a police station in Belfast and questioned before being released the following night.
A PSNI spokesperson confirmed to The Irish Post that the former soldier was bailed “pending further enquiries”.
The arrest was the first in relation to Bloody Sunday since 2012 — when a new investigation was announced.
“It’s been a long time coming but in many respects it’s going in the right direction,” said Ms Hegarty.
Jean Hegarty. Picture: Getty ImagesThe arrest has sparked a legal challenge by seven other former soldiers who have applied to the High Court for a judicial review of how the PSNI is conducting its inquiry after it was suggested that soldiers may lose their anonymity if they are charged with offences relating to Bloody Sunday.
A change.org petition has also been set up calling on Home Secretary Theresa May to grant legal pardons for all troops involved.
More than 24,000 people have signed it since it went online.
It states: “This petition calls for all arrests and investigation into Forces veterans during the Troubles to cease forthwith and the soldiers whom were present on that fateful day to be exonerated in the same way that members of known
Republican terror groups have been exonerated for their terrorist crimes.
“No benefit comes from this persecution of veterans other than to stir up a tragic day in the history of the Troubles. Let’s lay this to rest once and for all.”
A protest march was also due to go ahead in London on Saturday in support of the arrested soldier.
British paratroopers opened fire on a civilian march in Derry City on January 30, 1972.
Thirteen people died immediately in the shooting, while a 14th died some months later.
Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron apologised in 2010 for Bloody Sunday after the Saville Report into the shootings, saying it was “unjustified and unjustifiable”.
Ms Hegarty said that while the apology was enough for many family members of those who died she has mixed feelings.
“Many are happy with the apology but most people would view progress as prosecutions,” she said.
On the arrest, Ms Hegarty, who works in the Museum of Free Derry,added:“It’s the biggest thing to happen since the Saville Report.”
