British Soldier F gets away with murder.

[AnyName1]

I know little is taught in British schools about the north of Ireland, so wondered if people were aware of this shocking case.

villagemagazine.ie/the-guilt-of-an-unscrupulous-former-lord-chief-justice-in-the-soldier-f-cover-up-paratrooper-who-murdered-unarmed-civilians-on-bloody-sunday-has-been-protected-by-the-british-state-for-five-decades-an/

"Soldier F also known as ‘Dave’ will not now face criminal charges for the murder of innocent civilians in Derry on Bloody Sunday, 30 January 1972. This is because the statement he made after the Bloody Sunday massacre was not taken by the RUC, but rather by the Royal Military Police. These statements have been deemed inadmissable as evidence. Since this was standard procedure at the time, it probably means that no soldiers will be prosecuted for murder in Northern Ireland.

The policy of excluding the RUC from the investigation of killings caused by British solidiers came into existence after Brigadier Frank Kitson took over in Belfast.

Earlier this year Judge James O’Hara presided over the trial of two paratroopers accused of shooting Official IRA volunteer, Joe McCann. He was shot while he ran away from the soldiers. After the trial collapsed, the judge pointed out that:

At that time, in fact until late 1973, an understanding was in place between the RUC and the Army whereby the RUC did not arrest and question, or even take witness statements from, soldiers involved in shootings such as this one. This appalling practice was designed, at least in part, to protect soldiers from being prosecuted and in very large measure it succeeded."

Bloodlust took over that day and they should be prosecuted for it.

@HidingFromTheChildren

Well, it was a long time ago now.

Yes and I hope that's helped ease some of the grief. But it's a shame the families had to wait over 40 years before it was acknowledged that their loved ones were innocent. And a shame that it seems they'll never see anyone brought to justice because the perpetrators lied for so long and stitched up the system. There's no other reason - no time limit on prosecuting murder in the UK. The passage of time doesn't ease injustice - it exacerbates it.

I am not brilliant at this time in history (although learning) but looking at this I am hoping someone can tell me, is this a technicality the same sort of thing as Bill Cosby has just gotten off with and people are outraged about?

Having read the thread, soliders should be prosecuted even if they are following orders that they know are wrong and I am sure there is a law in place for this.

British soldiers have got away with murdering civilians the world over. And they always will.
Murdering paratroopers were given carte blanche that day and they opened fire at random.

@Fuckingcrustybread

When countries are at war no soldiers should be prosecuted. I'll support prosecution of all British soldiers when all IRA soldiers are equally prosecuted

What 'countries'?
This happened in the UK. Not some foreign field.

A British citizen was shot in the back by a British soldier.

Are you really happy that something like that could happen to you or to your nearest and dearest in your own country, and nobody would be held accountable for it? That is what the ruling means.

@HidingFromTheChildren

Well, it was a long time ago now

Well, the people they shot are still dead, and showing no signs of recovering from that condition...

I’ve always found it fascinating how so many of the countries Britain trampled have narratives of injustice yet you see similar atrocities perpetuated against their own people throughout history and in modern day, and it gets swept under the carpet and the union jacks come out and forelock tugging continues. Why are the British people so accepting and complacent of tyranny and institutional cover-ups? There’s a bit of talk and debate, and then everyone just keeps calm and carries on. I’ve never been able to decide whether it’s apathy, or social conditioning?

To think soldiers shouldn't face prosecution is a bit mad I think. Of. Course you should think before you shoot your gun. Of course the moral implications of what your doing should be on the forefront of your mind before you use deadly force. Jesus christ. It's a low bar to be setting otherwise. If the Irish army shot 15 innocent people in Dublin during a protest I can't imagine saying yeah well, some people sometimes aren't innocent and until we round up all the other people who are bad then leave it. Change Irish for black. Imagine the army or police shot black people during the BLM protest. I also agree with what's been mentioned before, the IRA is a fairly low standard to be holding the British army to. It sucks that you're held to a higher standard to the terrorists you're fighting against but my god.

This was no war that day. It was a day of murder, a mass shooting by some rogue members of the British army that have tried to defend their actions under the pretence of being at war.There were no basic principles of war upheld when those murdering bastards attended a civil rights march and shot dead innocent unarmed civilians, many of whom were shot in the back while running away and others shot in the face while attending to the wounded. Every inquiry into this massacre proved that none of the victims were armed. What was the reasoning of these so called 'soldiers' of the British army? There was none. There is no justice for the poor families of these victims.
A lot of people commenting here need to educate themselves on their horrific shameful history.

YANBU.

Bloody Sunday was not a usual battle in a “war” between two armies.

It was British soldiers firing on priests, mothers, fathers and children. A shameful episode in our history.

Soldiers should not be immune from prosecution if what they have done is a war crime or crime against humanity. I think the Tory line on this is totally wrong.

It’s important abuses of power by soldiers can’t take place.

@Fuckingcrustybread

When countries are at war no soldiers should be prosecuted. I'll support prosecution of all British soldiers when all IRA soldiers are equally prosecuted.

Ummm so you don't believe in war crimes? What about the Nuremberg trials? Do you think they shouldn't have happened?

British soldiers firing on priests etc

Paras, not British soldiers, the regular soldiers weren't doing that & were angry & horrified & hate the paras.

@Fuckingcrustybread

How many civilians did IRA soldiers murder?

How is that even relevant? We don't have capital punishment in this country and we didn't have it in 1972.

And even if we did, there'd still be the small matter of due process.

@AnyName1

They even imprisoned IRA members when they didn't commit crimes. Just to be sure.

And they imprisoned at least 18 innocent people for IRA crimes, having falsified evidence in many of those cases.

However it was a war, unnecessary killings from both sides (the like of which I hope never to see again), and the IRA were pardoned.

The IRA were not pardoned. IRA prisoners were released on license, along with loyalist prisoners. There is a difference.

It's not a chip on shoulders it's knowledge in our heads Memedru. Try it before you say other silly comments.

@Tossblanket

Bloodlust took over that day and they should be prosecuted for it.

The Parachute Regiment should never have been in the back streets of NI at all. They were a frontline fighting regiment who belonged in all-out war, not in trying to keep the peace between two civilian communities. I am in no way trying to mitigate what they did in Derry and Ballymurphy, but even other regiments knew what the Paras were capable of, and there appeared to be especially malignant forces at work within the top brass of that unit. They basically took the brake off in 71/72, and the result was absolute carnage.

When countries are at war no soldiers should be prosecuted.

This just shows the complete ignorance

As the great grandchild of a. catholic Irish immigrant. If this is true and they just opened fire for no reason that's beyond appalling and yes someone should be brought to account .but we cannot prosecute one side without looking at IRA behaviour what about the comfort letters Tony Blair's government gave to ira terrorists. One trial of an ira terrorist collapsed because of those letters .so yes everyone who participated in down right murder should face justice. Not just one side and one incident .both sides should be ashamed of there behaviour

About 800. Loyalist paramilitaries about 1100. Terrible times. Unjustifiable atrocities

Absolutely but it's funny how the loyalists are often forgotten.

@minniebin

When countries are at war no soldiers should be prosecuted.

This just shows the complete ignorance

And if they were countries at war, well - that supports the position of the IRA that they were fighting an occupying army, doesn't it?

@aprilanne

As the great grandchild of a. catholic Irish immigrant. If this is true and they just opened fire for no reason that's beyond appalling and yes someone should be brought to account .but we cannot prosecute one side without looking at IRA behaviour what about the comfort letters Tony Blair's government gave to ira terrorists. One trial of an ira terrorist collapsed because of those letters .so yes everyone who participated in down right murder should face justice. Not just one side and one incident .both sides should be ashamed of there behaviour

Do you think your heritage somehow means this astonishingly ill-informed post has greater validity than anyone else who appears to think that the British army should not be held to higher ethical standards (like not killing its own unarmed citizens) than a paramilitary organisation?

@minniebin

About 800. Loyalist paramilitaries about 1100. Terrible times. Unjustifiable atrocities

Absolutely but it's funny how the loyalists are often forgotten.

Especially when you ask/bring up who supplied them with their weapons. Can't bring that up without being a big RA supporting meanie here.