Ex-soldier David Holden thanks supporters following Aidan McAnespie manslaughter suspended sentence

Mr McAnespie, 23, was struck in the back by a bullet that ricocheted off the road as he walked through a permanent border checkpoint in Aughnacloy.

David Holden, 53, was initially told that he would not be prosecuted, however, in January 2018, the PPS informed Mr Holden that a decision had been taken to put him on trial for manslaughter.

Holden had admitted firing the shot which killed Mr McAnespie but had said he had fired the weapon by accident because his hands were wet.

He was convicted of manslaughter at Belfast Crown Court and subsequently sentenced last Thursday.

A small number of veterans staged a protest against the prosecution on each occasion a hearing was scheduled.

Outside the court in Belfast following the sentencing hearing, Paul Young of the Northern Ireland Veterans’ Movement (NIVM) said: “We believe that the sentence today was extremely harsh, considering the passage of time and what David Holden has had to go through over the last number of years.”

In a statement on Monday, Mr Young said Mr Holden will now “slip back into anonymity”.

The NIVM spokesman said: “David Holden has asked me to pass on his deepest thanks for all the support that he has received from all the veteran groups and especially those that were able to be in court and turned out at the entrance to the court through all weathers.

“Your support has kept him and his family going throughout these long years.

“David will now slip back into the anonymity that he and his family deserve.”

Also speaking outside court immediately after Thursday’s court hearing, Aidan’s brother Sean McAnespie said the suspended sentence did not take away from the fact that a conviction had been secured.

"He dragged us through the courts for years," he said.

"We lost our father and sister in the duration of that. It was like being stopped at the checkpoint every time we came here."