Former paratrooper Soldier F acquitted in Bloody Sunday killings

A former British paratrooper known only in court as Soldier F was acquitted on Thursday of two counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder arising from the 1972 Bloody Sunday shootings in Londonderry, a judge at Belfast Crown Court ruled. Judge Patrick Lynch said the prosecution had not proved beyond reasonable doubt that the veteran had opened fire on unarmed civilians during disorder following a civil rights march on January 30, 1972.

Judge Lynch delivered a written judgment after a nonjury trial that ran for four weeks. He said, "The evidence presented against the veteran fell well short of what was required for conviction," and added that criminal liability could not be established on the basis of collective suspicion. The charges accused Soldier F of killing James Wray and William McKinney and of attempting to murder Michael Quinn, Patrick O'Donnell, Joseph Friel, Joe Mahon and an unidentified person. The wider events of Bloody Sunday saw 13 people shot dead and about 15 others wounded when members of the Parachute Regiment opened fire on the demonstration.

The prosecution's case relied heavily on statements by two former soldiers, identified in court as Soldiers G...