The brothers of one of the victims who was shot dead on Bloody Sunday have said their family received a ‘sickening’ death threat during the trial of Soldier F.
Soldier F, who denies all charges, has been on trial at Belfast Crown Court for the murders of James Wray, 22, and William McKinney, 26.
They were among 13 people who were shot dead by the Parachute Regiment at a civil rights demonstration in the Bogside area of Londonderry.
The trial, which finished on Thursday, had been ongoing for five weeks.
Mickey McKinney said he attended every day of the trial, except on 9 October, when he met the PSNI with his brothers about the threat on social media.
He said his brother John had contacted him to inform him of a threat made against them on social media by “someone from the Shankill Road”.
“Our solicitor contacted the police and we had a meet up with them to make a statement of complaint,” he said.
“I lost a night’s sleep over it. It’s in the back of my head always. It’s not a nice feeling.”
He added that comments online had also insinuated that Mickey and his brothers looked like members of the IRA.
“They’re hurtful comments and really a bit sickening.”
However, Mickey said that they “can’t let it bother” them, and what matters now is that “justice prevails” for his late brother.
“Somebody is responsible. Somebody took our Willie’s life. It should never have happened, and somebody must be held to account for it, and we’re hoping that will happen next week.”
Mickey’s brother John described the threat as “bizarre”, and said it had caused him to be on high-alert when attending the trial.
“We had to watch ourselves when we walked into the trial. When we used public transport, we were very conscious of people around us,” he said.
John added that those behind the threat have no “empathy” or “understanding” of what he and his family have been through.
“They have no comprehension that we’re people trying to get justice for innocent people.”
Mickey and John’s brother Joe said that when he first heard about the threat, his main concern was for his family.
“You don’t know who’s going to be watching you going over and back from the court,” he said.
“It’s added an extra load of concern to all of us and our families.”
Joe added that he does not think the threat is “representative of the Protestant community”.
A spokesperson for the PSNI said: “We do not discuss the security of individuals and no inference should be drawn from this.
“However, if we receive information that a person’s life may be at risk, we will inform them accordingly. We never ignore anything which may put an individual at risk.”
The trial has now finished and the McKinney family has said the most important thing is to prepare for the verdict which will be delivered by the judge next Thursday.
In a social media post, the Bloody Sunday Trust said they condemned the “despicable threat” and “fully support the McKinney family”.
“No one should be threatened for seeking justice,” the statement added.
