THE family of a Derry teenager shot dead by the British army have said they will not take part in a forthcoming inquest after a coroner ruled it cannot be heard in front of a jury.
Helen Deery said her family will boycott what she termed a 'Diplock inquest' after they were told a full hearing into the death of her brother Manus, due to take place next month, will be heard with only a coroner present. Manus Derry was just 15 when he was shot dead by a British soldier in May 1972 as he made his way home through the Bogside after visiting a chip shop.
The fatal shot was fired by a soldier from the city's historic walls which overlook the area.
At an original inquest the soldier said in a statement that he had fired one shot at a gunman. However, eyewitnesses say there was no gunman in the area at the time.
The teenager was described as an innocent bystander by the original coroner.
His sister Helen is dismayed at the latest decision and has vowed to fight it. "It has taken 45 years to get to this inquest," she said. "I have to appeal it because I am not going into a Diplock inquest. I would not give any one man that power. I want a jury. My brother was an innocent."
Her solicitor Richard Campbell said they were considering a legal challenge of the decision. "It's totally different from any other legacy inquest," he said.
A spokesman for the Coroner's Service declined to comment.
