Ex-British soldier pleads not guilty to 'Bloody Sunday' murders after judge clears the way for trial [View all]

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https://apnews.com/article/britain-bloody-sunday-northern-ireland-troubles-c9261a4cb3a2131be1ec0c49f9637820

LONDON (AP) — A former British soldier will be tried for the murder of two men killed during the 1972 “Bloody Sunday” disturbances in Londonderry, Northern Ireland’s second-biggest city, after a judge refused to dismiss the charges against him.

The veteran, known only as Soldier F, is charged with two counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder stemming from a civil rights march and the rioting that followed it on Jan. 30, 1972. Thirteen people were killed by British Army gunfire that day, the largest number of deaths in a shooting incident during three decades of violence in Northern Ireland known as “The Troubles.”

During a hearing Friday at Belfast Crown Court, Justice Stephen Fowler rejected an application from the ex-soldier’s lawyers to dismiss the charges on the grounds that there wasn’t enough evidence to convict him.

Following the ruling, Soldier F pleaded not guilty. The veteran entered his plea from behind a blue floor-to-ceiling curtain after the judge granted a request to shield his identity. The veteran’s lawyers had argued that he would be a “prized target” for dissident Irish Republicans if his identity were made public.