Bloody Sunday: murder charge after 47 years

A British soldier is accused of two counts of murder, on "Bloody Sunday". He was a member of the paratrooper regiment, the 30. January 1972 in the Northern Ireland city of Londonderry 13 protesters killed.

A British Ex-soldier who was involved in the "Bloody Sunday" in 1972 in the Northern Irish city of Londonderry, has to answer for two counts of murder before the court. In addition, he is accused of attempted murder in four other cases, such as the Prosecutor's office in Northern Ireland announced at a Meeting with relatives of the victims.

The soldiers had fired on unarmed demonstrators who posed no threat to them, said state attorney Stephen Herron.

The Prosecutor's office also determined comrades against 16 of his regiment. Against them but have not filed charges, because there is not enough evidence for it. The change but not the fact that a decades-have found long investigation, that the soldiers had fired on unarmed demonstrators who posed no threat to you, - said the head of the Northern Ireland public Prosecutor's office, Stephen Herron. He understand that some of the members were therefore disappointed.

The decision of the Prosecutor is seen as an important step in the workup of the Northern Ireland conflict. The case for the responsible security forces so far, no criminal consequences.

A British government-appointed Commission came shortly after the "Bloody Sunday" to the conclusion that the elite soldiers had acted in self-defense. Also, a British court ruled that the actions of the soldiers as legitimate self-defense against Irish terrorists. A 2010 published study came to the conclusion that the shots were not justified on "Bloody Sunday".