Family demand 'full truth' of Motorman death
The family of a Derry teenager shot dead by British soldiers in July 1972 have urged the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to co-operate fully with a new inquest into the killing.
Daniel Hegarty was shot dead by a soldier in Creggan during Operation Motorman.
After today's preliminary hearing at Derry Courthouse, a statement on behalf of the Hegarty family was read out to the media.
Karen Brady - a niece of the deceased - said: "We welcome the opening of Daniel's inquest today. We hope that all participants will co-operate fully in the proceedings. This includes the British Army who have already stated publicly that they would co-operate fully with any properly constituted enquiry into Daniel's death."
The statement - on behalf of Daniel Hegarty's sisters Margaret Brady, Ann (Philomena) Conaghan and Catherine Devenney - added: "We now have a responsibility to have placed on public record the full and truthful circumstances of what happened to Daniel."
The preliminary hearing was told that seven British soldiers may be called to give evidence in the inquest.
Northern Ireland's Senior Coroner John Lecky - who will sit with a jury at the inquest - says he expects it to get underway early in June of next year.
He added that he would "feel obliged" to ensure the attendance of the soldiers involved and that risk assessments be carried out on any military personnel who seeks anonymity in giving evidence.
Mr Lecky requested maps, photographs and documents related to the case to be submitted by the MoD, the PSNI and the Historical Enquires Team.
He said enquires would also be made to the Director of Public Prosecutions on whether an "agreement" was made in 1972 between the then RUC Chief Constable and the Royal Military Police that the shooting should not be investigated by police.
"It strikes me that, if the agreement existed, then the DPP must have known about it," he said.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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