Irish Examiner View: Families of Bloody Sunday victims waiting 50 years for justice 

Relatives of the 13 unarmed civilians killed on Bloody Sunday in Derry have pledged to continue their fight for justice

John Kelly, whose brother Michael was shot dead by one of the soldiers, stands at the Bloody Sunday Memorial in the Bogside of Derry city. File picture: Liam McBurney/PA

The North's Public Prosecution Service (PPS) could be more aptly described as a persecution service following its decision to stand by a ruling it made last year to charge just one former soldier over the British army’s role in the Bloody Sunday massacre of 1972.

On January 30 of that year, soldiers from the Parachute Regiment opened fire on 26 unarmed civilians during a protest march in Derry against internment without trial. A total of 13 people lost their lives that day, while another died later and a further 15 were injured. In March 2019, the PPS announced that just one veteran, known only as Soldier F, would face criminal prosecution.