A PARATROOPER who is accused of the murder of two men and the attempted murder of four others on Bloody Sunday will stand trial in Derry, close to where the killings occurred.
The Ex-Army Man, known only as Soldier F to protect his identity, is the only soldier facing charges for the Bloody Sunday massacre, where the British army shot into a crowd of civil rights protesters causing the deaths of fourteen people.
Soldier F is suspected of intentionally causing the deaths of James Wray (22) and William McKinney (27). They were both shot in the back as they ran for cover, and Mr Wray was shot again as he lay dying.
An investigation into their deaths had found that neither men had posed any threat to the soldiers.
Soldier F is also facing charges for the attempted murders of Joseph Friel, Joe Mahon, Michael Quinn and Patrick O’Donnell.
Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service have set the date for Soldier F’s first court appearance as 18 September.
The PPS have said that others will not stand trial due to insufficient admissible evidence, and the Director, Stephen Herron, said at the time:
“I wish to clearly state that where a decision has been reached not to prosecute, that this in no way diminishes any finding by the Bloody Sunday inquiry that those killed or injured were not posing a threat to any of the soldiers.”
The families of those killed in January 1972 have been fighting for justice for almost 50 years.
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