Prosecution Says Soldiers ‘Disgraced’ British Army During Bloody Sunday Murder Trial 

Prosecutors told the court during the opening of a long-awaited murder trial of a British army veteran Monday that soldiers disgraced the British Army by targeting unarmed civilians in an “unjustified” and “gratuitous” use of force during the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre in Northern Ireland, the Guardian reported.  

The former paratrooper, a lance corporal designated as “Soldier F” by the court, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and five attempted murders over the Parachute Regiment’s fatal shooting of 13 civil rights protesters in the Northern Irish city of Derry on Jan. 30, 1972. 

The trial focuses on shootings in a courtyard in Glenfada Park, where soldiers are accused of firing on unarmed civilians who were trying to escape once they noticed soldiers approaching, the prosecution said. Soldiers shot 31 civilians on the day of the protest, killing 13. Another casualty who died four months later is widely considered the 14th victim.  

In 1972, a tribunal originally cleared the soldiers of wrongdoing after they claimed they fired in self-defense. However, a later inquiry in 2010 found that the killings were “unjustified and unjustifiable.” 

The massacre became a defining moment for the Troubles and was the deadliest shooting of the conflict between mostly Catholic supporters of a united Ireland and mainly Protestant forces that advocated remaining part of the United Kingdom, the Associated Press explained. 

While the conflict largely halted with the 1998 Good Friday peace accord, the situation has remained tense, with families of the victims continuing to call for justice.  

Families of the victims who have been campaigning for accountability for over 50 years marched to the courthouse carrying photos of the dead and a banner reading “Towards Justice.” One of them called it a momentous day. 

Meanwhile, supporters of army veterans argue that their losses have been downplayed and that they have unfairly been targeted in the investigations. During the trial, veterans gathered outside the courthouse in support of Soldier F and other soldiers. 

The Irish and British governments are both paying close attention to the case because both want to repeal the Legacy Act, an effort by the United Kingdom’s previous Conservative government to end prosecutions for Troubles-era alleged crimes.