Explainer: Soldier F on Trial for Bloody Sunday Murders
The trial of Former British paratrooper Lance Corporal Soldier F opened this week in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He is charged with two murders and five attempted murders on Bloody Sunday in Derry in 1972.
Who is Soldier F?
We can’t tell you. Like some other former British soldiers charged in connection with crimes during the 1969-1998 Northern Ireland conflict, his anonymity is protected by a court order. His name is widely known among those who have worked on the Bloody Sunday cases.
What was Bloody Sunday?
On January 30, 1972, British soldiers from the Parachute Regiment opened fire on unarmed civil rights protesters in Derry, Northern Ireland. Thirteen civilians were killed that afternoon, and 18 more were injured. One died four months later.
What is he accused of?
He is charged with the murders of Jim Wray and William McKinney, and of attempting to murder five other people.
This happened 52 years ago. Why has it taken so long to get to court?
For decades, the families thought it impossible to get any form of justice. An initial inquiry by the British authorities, the Widgery Tribunal Report, exonerated the soldiers.
Then another, fuller investigation called the Saville Inquiry contradicted that conclusion, finding that all of those killed were innocent. When the report was published in 2010, British Prime Minister David Cameron offered an apology to the families of those killed, and the wounded survivors, calling the soldiers’ actions “unjustified and unjustifiable.”
But getting a criminal prosecution to court is very hard after so many years. As we outlined in our 2024 report on the conflict, Bitter Legacy, “prosecutions become more difficult with the passing of time – both defendants and witnesses are dying, or otherwise unavailable.”
Is the evidence against Soldier F strong?
The court will decide that. But the official Saville Inquiry concluded that:
“We consider it more likely than not that either Lance Corporal F or Private H fired the shot that mortally wounded William McKinney;
“We have above identified Corporal E, Lance Corporal F, Private G, and Private H as the soldiers who went into Glenfada Park North, between them killing William McKinney and Jim Wray, injuring Joe Mahon, Joe Friel, Michael Quinn, and Patrick O’Donnell, and possibly injuring Daniel Gillespie. All claimed that they had identified and shot at people in possession of or seeking to use bombs or firearms.”
“In our view, none of these soldiers fired in the belief that he might have identified a person in possession of or using or about to use bombs or firearms.”
What do the families of those killed think?
Some are frustrated that Soldier F isn’t being prosecuted for more of the killings, but this is seen as a victory for the families’ years of campaigning. William McKinney’s brother, John, said the opening of the trial was a “momentous day in our battle to secure justice for our loved ones who were murdered on Bloody Sunday. It has taken 53 years to get to this point, and we have battled all the odds to get here. We will shortly occupy a courtroom very proudly, with our heads held high and in the knowledge that, regardless of the ultimate outcome, we are on the right side of history.”
What’s happening at the trial?
The usual things that happen at a murder trial, except that the defendant’s name isn’t public, and there is a judge without a jury, as is common for Northern Ireland conflict-related cases. When Soldier F is in the courtroom, he is hidden from view by a thick, floor-to-ceiling dark curtain. Three of those whom he allegedly wounded are expected to testify. The trial is expected to last for a few weeks.
