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January 30th, 1972 remains among the most fatal – and momentous – days during multiple decades of unrest in the region.

In the streets where it happened – the images of Bloody Sunday are painted on the walls and embedded in public consciousness.

A public gathering was conducted on a chilly yet clear afternoon in Londonderry.

The demonstration was challenging the policy of imprisonment without charges – imprisoning people without legal proceedings – which had been implemented after three years of violence.

Soldiers from the elite army unit shot dead 13 people in the neighborhood – which was, and continues to be, a predominantly republican community.

A specific visual became especially prominent.

Images showed a religious figure, Fr Edward Daly, using a blood-stained fabric as he tried to protect a assembly moving a teenager, the fatally wounded individual, who had been fatally wounded.

Journalists captured much footage on the day.

Documented accounts features the priest informing a media representative that military personnel "just seemed to discharge weapons randomly" and he was "absolutely certain" that there was no reason for the discharge of weapons.

The narrative of events was rejected by the original examination.

The initial inquiry concluded the Army had been attacked first.

During the resolution efforts, the ruling party set up a fresh examination, after campaigning by family members, who said the initial inquiry had been a cover-up.

In 2010, the conclusion by the inquiry said that on balance, the soldiers had fired first and that not one of the victims had been armed.

The contemporary head of state, the leader, expressed regret in the Parliament – declaring fatalities were "improper and inexcusable."

Authorities started to examine the incident.

One former paratrooper, identified as Soldier F, was prosecuted for killing.

He was charged concerning the deaths of James Wray, in his twenties, and in his mid-twenties another victim.

Soldier F was also accused of seeking to harm several people, Joseph Friel, more people, another person, and an unidentified individual.

Exists a judicial decision preserving the defendant's identity protection, which his lawyers have claimed is essential because he is at risk of attack.

He told the investigation that he had solely shot at people who were armed.

This assertion was disputed in the final report.

Material from the examination was unable to be used straightforwardly as testimony in the legal proceedings.

In the dock, the accused was shielded from sight behind a protective barrier.

He addressed the court for the first time in the hearing at a session in late 2024, to reply "innocent" when the accusations were read.

Relatives of the deceased on Bloody Sunday made the trip from Londonderry to the courthouse each day of the case.

John Kelly, whose sibling was fatally wounded, said they always knew that listening to the case would be difficult.

"I visualize everything in my mind's eye," the relative said, as we examined the main locations discussed in the case – from Rossville Street, where Michael was killed, to the adjacent Glenfada Park, where the individual and William McKinney were fatally wounded.

"It reminds me to my position that day.

"I helped to carry the victim and lay him in the ambulance.

"I went through the entire event during the testimony.

"Despite enduring the process – it's still meaningful for me."