Two soldiers who were with a former paratrooper accused of murdering two men on Bloody Sunday saw him fire shots that day, a court has heard. The statements made by soldiers G and H have been deemed as “decisive evidence” by the Crown, whereas the defence view them as “completely unreliable” due to inconsistencies. They were read during the non-jury trial of Soldier F, who is accused of the murders of James Wray and William McKinney in Londonderry on January 30 1972. He is further charged with five counts of attempted murder on the same day. The Army veteran, who cannot be identified, has pleaded not guilty to all seven counts. Soldier G, who is now deceased, gave a statement to the Royal Military Police (RMP) in the early hours of January 31, 1972. It was read to the trial at Belfast Crown Court. In it, he said that after arriving in the area just after 4pm he and F came under fire from a gunman positioned in the Rossville flats. James Wray (left) and William McKinney, who died on Bloody Sunday He said that after moving further up the street, he saw a gunman positioned behind a wall at the end of an alleyway. Soldier G said he then ran up the alleyway with F into Glenfada Park and upon entering the courtyard he saw two men standing about 25 metres away and that “both of them were holding what appeared to be small rifles in their hands. “There was a small group of people standing near to them. I fired three aimed shots at one of the men and I saw him fall to the ground. “F fired at the same time and I saw the other gunman fall. “The group of people standing near to the gunmen picked up two weapons and ran off down an alleyway.” Soldier G said he “gave chase” and ran down an alleyway past “two bodies lying on the ground” and a short time later he was “recalled to Rossville Street.” Soldier H also gave a statement to the RMP in the early hours of January 31, 1972. He said that after arriving in the area, he was with F and G and that he saw three youths “in possession of nail bombs. “I cocked my rifle, took aim at the youth in the middle of the group and fired two rounds at the centre of the stomach.” H said he saw “the other soldiers” fire rounds “at the other persons” and said “I could recognise nail bombs in their hands.” He also said all three youths “fell to the ground” then another youth ran from the crowd, picked up an object from one of those shot then ran in the direction of the north block of flats. Soldier H said he fired at this male who was struck him on the shoulder and who then “disappeared into a crowd of people.” The Crown has already made the case that the shooting of civilians in the courtyard was “unjustified”.
via belfasttelegraph: Soldier F trial hears ‘decisive evidence’ from paratroopers present on Bloody Sunday
sieeh auch: Bloody Sunday witness feared he would be shot, trial hears. A number of statements made by Bloody Sunday witnesses have been read out at the trial of Soldier F, who denies murdering two of the 13 people shot dead by the Army. Soldier F is accused of murdering James Wray, 22, and William McKinney, 26, as well as five counts of attempted murder in 1972. One of the statements was made by Hugh O’Boyle, who said he feared being shot by a soldier who aimed a rifle at him in Glenfada Park North in Londonderry. As a 24 year old, he had attended the civil rights march in January 1972 which preceded the shooting. Soldier F is further accused of attempting to murder Patrick O’Donnell, Joseph Friel, Joe Mahon, Michael Quinn and an unknown person. The case is being heard by a judge sitting without a jury at Belfast Crown Court. The former paratrooper, whose identity remains protected by a court order, has entered pleas of not guilty. He also denies the five counts of attempted murder. Thirteen people were shot dead by the Parachute Regiment when it opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in the Bogside area of Londonderry. About 15 others were wounded. (…) The decision to charge Soldier F was taken by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) in 2019. He was one of 18 former soldiers reported to the PPS as a result of a police investigation, which followed the public inquiry into Bloody Sunday conducted by Lord Saville. But he was the only one charged.