By Rebecca Black, PA
The families of five men shot dead by the British army on Bloody Sunday are to challenge in court the decision by the North’s Public Prosecution Service (PPS) not to prosecute former soldiers.
The PPS announced in 2019 that one veteran, known as Soldier F, would face charges.
On Thursday, the families of Jackie Duddy, Michael Kelly, John Young, Michael McDaid and William McKinney were granted permission by the Belfast High Court to challenge decisions not to prosecute five other former members of the Parachute Regiment.
High Court grants Bloody Sunday families permission to challenge Public Prosecution Service (PPS) decision not to prosecute former Paratroopers pic.twitter.com/doWhmOdy7r
— Madden & Finucane (@madden_finucane) April 22, 2021
The judicial review challenge has been listed for hearing for five days beginning on September 20th.
Fearghal Shiels, of Madden and Finucane, said the families are looking forward to the hearings later this year.
“This application arises out of decisions taken in March 2019 by the PPS not to prosecute these soldiers, and a decision upheld after an internal review of that decision by the PPS in September 2020,” he said.
“The families warmly welcome today’s decision and look forward with confidence to the full hearing in the autumn.”
Thirteen civilians were killed on January 30th, 1972 after soldiers from the Parachute Regiment opened fire on a civil rights demonstration, in an incident which became known as Bloody Sunday.
Fifteen others were shot and injured. One of the injured died months later from an inoperable tumour and some consider him the 14th fatality.
