THE family of a Derry teenager shot dead by a soldier in 1972 have said they are “angry and disgusted” about a lack of communication from the Public Prosecution Service.
Daniel Hegarty was 15-years-old when he was shot twice in the head, but in July 2021 the PPS said it would not pursue charges against a man known as Soldier B.
This decision was overturned in June but the Hegarty family say they have been left in the dark over the next steps.
Speaking to the BBC, Daniel’s sister Margaret Brady said: “We have never heard anything from them and I want to know why.
“I feel angry and disgusted that they are treating us as an afterthoughts, as if we are nothing.”
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The family’s lawyers have now written to the PPS to request they confirm their exact position, as the appeal period for the ruling has now expired.
In June, the PPS had stated it would be taking “necessary time to consider the full detail of the written judgement” and was “committed to deciding next steps and updating the family directly at the earliest opportunity.”
Ms Brady said the lack of a formal update had caused the family hurt and mistrust.
"They would need to stop doing this," she said.
"It feels like stalling and it really hurts families like mine. There's no respect."
Calling for a meeting with the PPS as soon as possible, she added: “We need peace of mind and justice”.
Monday had been the 51st anniversary of her brother’s killing, and last year a plaque was unveiled in Derry, close to the Creggan Heights area where he had been shot.
The teenager had been a labourer and was killed during Operation Motorman, the army operation to reclaim areas controlled by republican paramilitaries in towns and cities across Northern Ireland.
A jury inquest in 2011 unanimously found Daniel had not been a threat and had been shot without warning.
The original inquest in 1973 had returned an open verdict, but a new inquest was ordered in 2009 after the Historical Enquiries Team had re-examined the case.
A spokesperson for the PPS said: "The divisional court gave judgment on June 29, 2023.
"However, the final order of the court was to be the subject of further representations by the parties."
The statement added there had been “ongoing contact” between the PPS and representatives of the Hegarty family “regarding the final order of the court”.
"The PPS is fully committed to engaging further with the Hegarty family when the litigation has finally concluded.”
A solicitor for the Hegarty family responded: "In the interests of justice and everyone involved in this long running case with all its legal history there is absolutely no technical reason why the PPS should not simply tell the family at this sensitive time when the prosecution of Soldier B will continue."
