A Belfast judge on Thursday acquitted a former British paratrooper known as Soldier F of murder in the 1972 Bloody Sunday killings, citing insufficient evidence he fired on unarmed civilians. The verdict dealt a heavy blow to victims families who have spent more than a half-century seeking justice for one of Northern Irelands darkest days.

A Belfast court on Thursday found a British soldier not guilty of murder in the only trial of a member of the British armed forces over the 1972 "Bloody Sunday" killings of 13 unarmed Catholic civil rights marchers in Northern Ireland.

Judge Patrick Lynch ruled at Belfast Crown Court that prosecutors failed to prove that the veteran identified only as Soldier F had opened fire on unarmed civilians who were running to safety.

Soldier F had pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder for the deaths of James Wray, 22, and William McKinney, 27, and five counts of attempted murder for the shootings of Joseph Friel, Michael Quinn, Joe Mahon, Patrick ODonnell, and for opening fire at unarmed civilians.

The judge in the nonjury trial said that the evidence presented against the veteran fell well short of what was required for conviction.

The verdict, which reflected the weak evidence prosecutors had to rely on, was a blow to families of victims who have spent more than a half-century seeking justice.

Fleeing demonstrators

The former lance corporal had been charged with two counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder. Prosecutors said that he fired at fleeing demonstrators on Jan. 20, 1972 in Londonderry, also known as Derry, when 13 people were killed and 15 others were wounded in the deadliest shooting of the period known as The Troubles.

WatchNo British justice: Northern Ireland marks 50 years since Bloody Sunday

The event has come to symbolize the conflict between mainly Catholic supporters of a united Ireland and predominantly Protestant forces that wanted to remain part of the United Kingdom. The killings were a source of shame for a British government that had initially claimed that members of a parachute regiment fired in self-defence after being attacked by gunmen and people hurling firebombs.

While the violence largely ended with the 1998 Good Friday peace accord, tensions remain. Families of civilians killed continue to press for justice, while supporters of army veterans complain that their losses have been downplayed and that they have been unfairly targeted in investigations.

Soldier F, who was shrouded from view in court by a curtain throughout the five-week trial, didn't testify in his defence and his lawyer presented no evidence. The soldier told police during a 2016 interview that he had no reliable recollection of the events that day, but was sure he had properly discharged his duties as a soldier.

Case 'flawed and weak'

Defence lawyer Mark Mulholland attacked the prosecution's case as fundamentally flawed and weak for relying on soldiers he dubbed fabricators and liars, and the fading memories of survivors who scrambled to avoid live gunfire that some mistakenly thought were rounds of rubber bullets.

Surviving witnesses spoke of the confusion, chaos and terror as soldiers opened fire and bodies began falling after a large civil rights march through the city.

The prosecution relied on statements by two of Soldier Fs comrades Soldier G, who is dead, and Soldier H, who refused to testify. The defence tried unsuccessfully to exclude the hearsay statements, because they couldn't be cross-examined.

Prosecutor Louis Mably argued that the soldiers, without justification, had all opened fire, intending to kill, and thus shared responsibility for the casualties.

A formal inquiry cleared the troops of responsibility, but a subsequent and lengthier review in 2010 found soldiers shot unarmed civilians fleeing and then lied in a cover-up that lasted for decades.

Then Prime Minister David Cameron apologized and said that the killings were unjustified and unjustifiable.

The 2010 findings cleared the way for the eventual prosecution of Soldier F, though delays and setbacks kept it from coming to trial until last month.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)

Originally published on France24