IRISH REPUBLICAN NEWS:

Posted by Jim on July 9, 2026

Seven acquitted over charges linked to 2019 Derry riot

Seven men have been found not guilty of offences stemming from a riot in 2019 in which young freelance journalist Lyra McKee tragically lost her life.

Several petrol bombs had been directed at the PSNI and a car was set on fire following a wave of oppressive PSNI incursions into the strongly republican area of the Creggan in Derry.

Amid intense rioting on April 18, 2019, a group of onlookers, including Ms McKee, were standing beside an armoured police vehicle when she was hit. The New IRA accepted responsibility for her tragic death.

A large number of republicans were rounded up by the PSNI at the time. Of those, nine men eventually appeared at Laganside Courthouse. With strong support in the courtroom from among the local community, they faced a string of 52 charges before a Diplock non-jury trial that started in May 2024.

All but two of them were this werk cleared of all the charges they faced – one was declared guilty of riot-related charges and ordered remanded into custody without bail, while another was declared guilty of assault.

Three men, Peter Cavanagh (pictured, right), Paul McIntyre and Jordan Gareth Devine, were cleared of a joint enterprise charge of murder. Defence lawyers had strongly criticised the very low standard of the evidence in the case, which was almost entirely circumstantial.

In a statement, Saoradh condemned what it said had been the state’s “flagship” prosecution.

Its “total collapse” had “laid bare the lengths to which the British establishment, its judicial apparatus, and the corporate media will go to criminalise Republicanism”, they said.

“For years, Irish Republicans have been subjected to a coordinated campaign of character assassination, prolonged internment by bail, and malicious prosecution.

“Even a non-jury system failed to validate the state’s transparently political narrative.”

They criticised the mainstream media reporting, which they said had deliberately obscured the “central fact” of the day, that the overwhelming majority of those dragged through the courts were vindicated and found innocent.

“To read or watch the news, one would mistakenly believe a blanket conviction had been secured,” they said.

“As Republicans, we remain deeply sensitive to the fact that an innocent civilian lost her life in a tragic accident in 2019. It is a tragedy that should never have occurred.

“However, it is utterly abhorrent that the British state, its security apparatus, and a compliant media have systematically exploited this tragic loss of life as a political weapon to wage a sustained assault on the Republican community and the legitimate struggle for Irish liberation.”

There was also criticism of the political establishment, and particularly the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), for statements falsely claiming Ms McKee had been deliberately targeted and which misrepresented the trial itself as unjust.

“The NUJ has released statements lamenting that ‘justice was not served’ for the family, choosing to entirely ignore the reality that the evidence failed because the state’s case was built on pure speculation and political opportunism,” Saoradh said.

“By declaring that “someone got away with murder”, these organisations openly dismiss the fundamental principle that individuals cannot be convicted without evidence, showing a complete disregard for the profound injustice inflicted upon the accused men and their families over the last number of years.

“For years, these men faced draconian restrictions, destroyed livelihoods, and state sponsored vilification.

“The press, which consistently functions as a mouthpiece for the state, refused to cover the glaring inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case throughout the long running show trial, and they refuse to cover the reality of the injustice faced by the accused.

“Yesterday’s verdicts are a victory against state overreach, but the struggle against the weaponisation of the judicial system and the selective morality of the establishment media continues.”