Category Archives: Bloody Sunday

US attorney general tells Bloody Sunday service ‘the right to vote is under attack’

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Merrick Garland warns of efforts to disenfranchise Black voters and says court decisions have weakened the 1965 Voting Rights Act

The right to vote in the US is under attack, with sustained efforts to disfranchise Black voters, US attorney general Merrick Garland told a Selma church service commemorating the 59th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday police attack on civil rights activists.

Garland said decisions by the supreme court and lower courts since 2006 have weakened the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

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Troubles trials: why did they collapse, and what happens next?

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Decision to halt prosecution for murder of two British veterans is likely to affect other cases

Why have prosecutors dropped Troubles-era murder charges against former soldiers who served in Northern Ireland?

A technicality, and a whole lot of history, lie behind Friday’s decision to halt the prosecution of two veterans. Soldier F had been charged with two murders and five attempted murders during Bloody Sunday in Derry in January 1972. Soldier B was charged with killing a teenager in the city in July 1972.

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Bloody Sunday families reject decision to charge only one soldier

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Relatives of some of the 14 people killed to challenge ruling by Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service

The families of those who died in the 1972 Bloody Sunday killings in Derry are to challenge a legal decision not to prosecute any more former soldiers in connection with the shootings.

Relatives expressed dismay after a review by the Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service (PPS), published on Tuesday, confirmed that only one former member of the Parachute Regiment, known as Soldier F, should face charges.

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Families of Troubles victims warn against amnesty for soldiers

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Emmett McConomy, whose 11-year-old brother died in 1982, said cases ‘not going away’

A man whose 11-year-old brother was killed by a soldier in Northern Ireland nearly 40 years ago has warned that victims’ families “were not going to go away” if the British government tried to introduce an amnesty for military personnel.

Emmett McConomy, whose older brother Stephen was shot in the back of the head with a plastic bullet, said the new Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, needed to understand the strength of feeling among families who had not yet seen cases involving British soldiers come to court.

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McDonald’s Portugal apologises for ‘Sundae Bloody Sundae’ ads

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Halloween promotion was not intended to be ‘insensitive reference’ to historical events

McDonald’s in Portugal has apologised for using the slogan “Sundae Bloody Sundae” in a Halloween campaign for its ice-cream puddings.

It appears the chain decided to celebrate the spooky season with a two-for-one offer on the strawberry dessert and a nod to the early U2 song Sunday Bloody Sunday.

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Up to 200 ex-soldiers and police facing Troubles investigations

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Figure comes as rift opens between Northern Ireland Office and MoD over how to deal with historical accusations

As many as 200 former members of the British security forces are under official investigation for alleged criminal actions during the Troubles as a rift opens up between the Northern Ireland Office and the Ministry of Defence over how to deal with historical accusations.

There are at least three prosecutions against British soldiers under way. A former Parachute Regiment lance-corporal, identified only so far as “Soldier F”, is due to stand trial for murder and attempted murder for his role in the 1972 Bloody Sunday killings. Altogether, it is understood that between 150 and 200 former soldiers and police are under investigation for alleged actions taken during the Troubles.

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