Three men were acquitted on Friday of the 2019 murder of Northern Irish journalist Lyra McKee. Justice Patricia Smyth of the Belfast Crown Court ruled that circumstantial evidence was insufficient for a conviction.

McKee, 29, was killed while reporting on clashes between police and the New IRA, a dissident republican group, in Londonderry. Her funeral was attended by the prime ministers of Britain and Ireland, as well as political leaders from both communities. Her death prompted the revival of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government, which had been suspended since 2017.

“Lyra McKee’s murder was an act of senseless violence,” Smyth said. “The gunman has never been brought to the court and the evidence against those accused of assisting or encouraging has fallen short of that required for conviction.” All three defendants pleaded not guilty and did not testify.

McKee’s sister, Nichola Corner, said the justice system had “completely failed” her family. She noted that up to 150 people may have witnessed her sister’s death and called for an end to the “culture of silence in Northern Ireland.”

The New IRA opposes the Irish peace process and seeks to end British rule in Northern Ireland. The group previously claimed responsibility, saying one of its members shot McKee.

Source: www.dw.com