Bloody Sunday Soldiers win anonymity battle Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit ............................................................... source - Christina Delgado (From The Breaking News section of the Irish Times 6/17/99) Bloody Sunday soldiers win anonymity battle 12.25 p.m. Seventeen former soldiers who are due to appear before the new Bloody Sunday Inquiry today won their British High Court battle over a decision to deny them anonymity. The court ruled the Saville Inquiry reached a "flawed" conclusion when it said the men, mainly from the Parachute Regiment, must reveal their full names when they give evidence, unless they can show "special reasons" for remaining anonymous. The decision was greeted by anger by the relatives of victims. Lord Justice Roch, sitting in London with Mr Justice Maurice Kay and Mr Justice Hooper, said the court had given "the most anxious scrutiny" to the matter and found the tribunal had failed properly to consider the danger the men and their families would face if their names were revealed. The decision was a 2-1 majority ruling, with Mr Justice Hooper, dissenting. The soldiers' legal victory follows widespread concern for the safety of the men, who fired live rounds during a civil rights march on Sunday January 30th 1972. It was feared they and their families could be targeted by terrorists out to avenge the Derry shootings, which resulted in the deaths of 14 unarmed civilians, with many more were wounded. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "I think this is very welcome news for the soldiers." However Mickey McKinney, whose 27-year-old brother Willie was one of those shot dead by soldiers on Bloody Sunday, said: "I'm very, very angry. Once you hear this you think what next? How are we going to tackle this?" John Kelly, whose 17-year-old brother Michael was also one of the victims, also said he was extremely angry and disappointed. "It means the independence of the whole inquiry is in jeopardy, whereby other judicial bodies can interfere like this." ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytire-06.23.99-11:34:47-13079