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AN ANTRIM COURT has found Brian Shivers guilty of the murder of two British soldiers at the Massereene barracks over two years ago.
His co-accused Colin Duffy was found not guilty by the presiding judge earlier today. He is expected to walk free from the courtroom shortly.
Both had been charged with shooting dead 23-year-old Mark Quinsey and 21-year-old Patrick Azmikar on 7 March 2009.
They had denied all murder and attempted murder charges, as well as those relating to the possession of guns and explosives.
This is the third time that Duffy has been charged with murder.
Sky News reported that the 44-year-old was been found not-guilty after a six-week long, non-jury trial because the judge said not enough evidence against him was provided.
The prosecution failed to link the defendant to the murder plot, said Justice Anthony Hart.
“There is insufficient evidence to satisfy beyond reasonable doubt that, whatever Duffy may have done when he wore the latex glove or touched the seatbelt buckle, meant that he was preparing the car in some way for this murderous attack,” the judge said, according to U.TV.
He was referring to two pieces of key evidence that police found his DNA on in the getaway car which failed to burn out after the attack.
Referring to his decision about Shivers, Justice Hart said he was satisfied that the prosecution had proved he had set fire to the Cavalier getaway car at Ranaghan Road and, therefore, found him guilty on each count of the indictment, reports U.TV.
According to reporter Sharon O’Neill who was tweeting from the courtroom, the judge said that it could not be proven if Duffy was in the getaway car after the attack.
A number of other people were wounded, including two delivery men who were bringing pizza to the soldiers at the time of the attack.
The soldiers’ unit was due to be deployed to Afghanistan the day after the two young men were gunned down.
During the six-week trial, the court heard that the gunmen shot the soldiers when they were on the ground to ensure they were dead. Throughout the trial, CCTV footage was shown to judge Anthony Hart and an audio file of the 999 call played.
Police have now released a CCTV still from seconds before the shooting.
The screengrab shows the soldiers head out to the delivery cars just seconds before the gunmen appear. Azimkar is the figure at the bottom of the image, closest to the darker vehicle. Quinsey is the third man from the bottom of the image. They were already dressed in their desert gear ahead of deployment to Afghanistan.
A recording of the 999 call made from the barracks has also been released.
More than 60 shots were fired at about 9.40pm on the night of the murder. Four soldiers, two security guards and two delivery men were also shot but they survived their injuries.
A getaway car was found abandoned seven miles from the scene and DNA tests linked some items found in the vehicle to the men standing trial.
A latex glove tip was linked to Duffy, while Shivers’ DNA was found on a matchstick and a mobile phone, the court was told.
The non-jury trial ended last month but judgement was reserved until today.
U.TV reports that the gun attack was claimed by the Real IRA just two days after PSNI Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde warned that the threat from dissident republicans had reached a critical level in the area.
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Scum
The heads on them…look like utter scumbags.
Gutter Rats the lot of them, such a pity Duffy walked. RIP to the brave soldiers, a million times greater men that these cowards.
Rot in hell you IRA scumbags
They are not the IRA.
daithi..get real..they are the same as the other evil incarnations of the ira..only differance is the mainstream saw the light LATE no differance…same brutal cowardly actions. a slur on my flag and my nation. RIP Sappers Quincy & Azimkar. This evil deed was not in.my name
They are not, the IRA.
But they are terrorists.
Prob RIRA.
Scumbags. Hope he never sees the light of day again.
Duffy the known republican is found not guilty. Shivers who pleaded the sympathy case with his medical condition is guilty. I doubt Duffys solidarity will stretch far enough for him to offer to take Shivers sentence. I suppose the experienced terrorist needs a scapegoat so he can live to shoot another day.
How do you think the system works? Do you actually think that even if Duffy wanted to he could do Shivers sentence, but ridiculous comment aside, Duffy was found innocent in a court of law he shouldn’t have to feel guilty now he has been proven innocent
I hope the bastard rots in jail and as for that other scumbag that walked, I hope he spends the rest of his days looking over his shoulder until he too finally gets what he deserves.
That’s the kind of mentality that fuels the tit for tat between the 2 sides!
I hope enough evidence can be produced to put anyone else involved away too.
These so called ‘Volunteers of Ireland’ are nothing more than criminals hiding behind a flag, my flag, and to accuse me of having the same mentality as these scumbags is the biggest insult you could have given me!! I too hope justice is served on Duffy and I for one will not be surprised nor lose any sleep if it’s poetic justice.
If you’re advocating one death for another you’re no better than them. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you’re not and apologise for any offence taken in that case.
Your flag, is it?
LOL.
The Irish flag was first raised over the G.P.O in 1916. By patriots, who, in the current climate, would be considered political terrorists.
Learn your nations history. It has never been your flag, never has been, nor never will be.
Having served with the royal engineers and an irish man i am delighted that justice has been served on this individual.. i understand that they are both deeply troubled men and cannot see the hurt they have caused.. i do not hold them any malice and take my beret off to the brave sappers and their families who have lost such heroes…
Lest the fallen be forgot..
..
Honi soit qui mal y pense
Well said that man.
They are not, the People’s Front of Judea.
They are, the Judean People’s Front.
Sorry, which one are they again?
Who on earth gave the above a thumbs down? Seriously?
@sean I was thinking the same thing! Haha!
A terrorist by any other name…
Eggfuel, bloody Sunday x 2, ballymurphy, Iraq, Afghanistan, belgrano etc , right bunch of heroes you joined, nothing worse than a hypocrite, think you might be as deluded a fool as shivers & Duffy.
well speaking of atrocities..la mons..enniskillen..warrenpoint..mullaghmore..warrington..manchester..newry RUC station..bloody friday..claudy..d/gda mccabe..jean mcconville..do i need to go on nichuireann. do we really want to go back to those dark days of fear death and destruction..i dont normally list such things but the first casualty of any war is truth..the plain truth is terrible deeds on ALL sides and the majority of innocent civilian casualties were at the hands of paramilitaries of all labels
Justice doesn’t seem fair… RIP
Brian Shivers found ‘guilty’.
Once more British Kangaroo courts at work. ‘Ireland unfree shall never be at peace’.
care to explain the kangaroo courts statement?
Not guilty in the courts eyes . . . But guilty as hell in the publics eye
Duffys DNA found in the gloves – guilty as sin –
Murdering scum ! ! ! !
You have just called an innocent man a murderer.
You might want to get yourself a good brief.
Good lad.
Seriously harassed or a seriously incompetent prosecution…
Real-IRA . . . . SCUM
IRA, RIRA. Both murdering scumbags.
May they both rot
“Ireland unfree shall never be at peace” Patrick Pearse
Lock the door and throw away the key and let this SCUM BAG rot away!!
cold bastard
Listen to the 999 call -
What terrible call takers – no details , no nothing – seems like they have no interest ! ! ! !
“Dreaming in the night,
I saw a land where no man had to fight.
Waking in your dawn,
I saw you crying in the morning light.”
Song for Ireland.
I agree there was no justification for killing the soldiers considering a democratic alternative is now available. But fed up wit all the Brit apologists making it out like the BA are just decent lads trying to help out Ireland. The fact is for years and years British intransigence and belligerence created a generation of people who will eternally be hostile to the BA.
there was NEVER any justification for murder..NEVER
It was a war situation for near 35 years in the North, with nearly 80 years of oppression against the Catholic population. Of course a peaceful resolution would have been preferable but it was simply impossible as Bloody Sunday testified to. Of course certain actions on all sides were nothing more than murder but many operations carried out by the IRA were legitimate considering the situation in the North. Why shouldn’t people fight fire with fire defending there right to exist as a people. Tell me who should the nationalist people have relied on to defend them? The British, The Irish? The fact was there was no option but armed struggle, could that struggle have been ended earlier? Perhaps did many innocent people needlessly die? certainly but hostility was forced upon the people and they fought back.
6 year old co-accused lol
Fixed ;-)
Jesus wept. If this thread passes for serious comment we really are all doomed.
6-year-old Brian Shivers?
So Colm what about the army they are members of and what about all the murder they are doing in Afghanistan which they were being deployed to
pathetic comment..beneath contempt. shocking in.its immaturity
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