BELFAST, Northern Ireland (FN) — A Northern Irish judge is expected to deliver a ruling next week in the trial of the only British soldier ever charged with murder over the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre — a case that continues to inflame tensions more than five decades after British troops gunned down unarmed Catholic civil rights demonstrators in Londonderry.
The soldier, identified only as Soldier F due to legal restrictions, faces two counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder stemming from the infamous incident in which 13 civilians were killed and dozens injured. The shootings, carried out by members of the British Army’s Parachute Regiment, remain one of the darkest chapters of the United Kingdom’s military history.
The trial, held without a jury, concluded after a month of proceedings in Belfast Crown Court. Soldier F, who pleaded not guilty, did not testify. His defense team argued that the prosecution relied on “manifestly unreliable” military statements dating back over 50 years, calling the case “fundamentally flawed” and built on a “stream of contaminated evidence.”
Prosecutors countered that the only question was whether Soldier F fired the fatal shots directly or aided others in doing so. They cited testimony from fellow paratroopers as key evidence.
In a 2016 police interview, Soldier F claimed he had no reliable memory of the events but insisted he had discharged his duties appropriately.
The British government formally apologized in 2010 after a landmark inquiry concluded that the victims posed no threat and that the killings were “unjustified and unjustifiable.” Yet critics say the apology has done little to deliver accountability, and the trial has reignited debate over Britain’s handling of its legacy in Northern Ireland.
Bloody Sunday marked a turning point in the Troubles, a violent 30-year conflict between Irish nationalists seeking reunification and unionists loyal to the United Kingdom. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement largely ended the bloodshed, but the scars remain — and for many, Soldier F’s trial is a litmus test for justice delayed and possibly denied.
The judgment is scheduled for October 23.
