Ex-British soldier goes on trial for 1972 Bloody Sunday killings in Northern Ireland

LONDON — The only British soldier to be prosecuted in the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre in Northern Ireland went on trial Monday in Belfast on murder charges in a case that has come to symbolize the three decades of sectarian violence known as “the Troubles.”

The ex-paratrooper, a lance corporal named only as “Soldier F” to protect his identity, was concealed behind a blue curtain that shielded him from view of the families of some of the 13 people killed and 15 wounded when troops opened fire on unarmed civil rights demonstrators on Jan. 30, 1972, in Londonderry, also known as Derry.

“The civilians ... did not pose a threat to the soldiers and nor could the soldiers have believed that they did,” prosecutor Louis Mably said during an opening statement in Belfast Crown Court. “The civilians were unarmed and they were simply shot as they ran away.”

The Army veteran pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder in what was the deadliest shooting of the long-running conflict between mainly Catholic supporters of a united Ireland and predominantly Protestant forces that wanted to remain part of the United Kingdom.

While the conflict largely ended with the 1998 Good Friday peace accord that created a system for Republican and Unionist parties to share power in Northern Ireland, tensions remain. Families of civilians killed continue to press for justice and supporters of army veterans complain that their losses have been downplayed and that they have been unfairly targeted in investigations.

Families of the victims who have campaigned for more than a half century for accountability for the killings marched to the courthouse before the trial carrying photos of the dead and walking behind a banner reading “Towards Justice.”

John McKinney called it a momentous day.

“It has taken 53 years to get to this point, and we have battled all the odds to get here,” said McKinney, whose brother, William, was killed in the shooting.

“Everything that we have achieved to this point has been through relentless commitment and a refusal to lie down,” he said. “We will shortly occupy a courtroom very proudly with our heads held high and in the knowledge that, regardless of the ultimate outcome, that we are on the right side of history.”

The fact that it’s taken more than half a century for a trial to get underway reflects the tortured history of the shooting and foreshadows hurdles ahead for prosecutors.

The government initially said members of a parachute regiment fired in self-defense after being attacked by bombers and gunmen, and a formal inquiry cleared troops of responsibility. A subsequent and lengthier review in 2010 found soldiers had fired at unarmed civilians fleeing and then lied about it for decades.

Then-Prime Minister David Cameron apologized and said the killings were “unjustified and unjustifiable.”

The findings cleared the way for the eventual prosecution of Soldier F, though that, too, has been beset by delays and obstacles.

Melley writes for the Associated Press.