UK: 1989 Hillsborough disaster commander to face trial

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) – A former police commander will be tried over the deaths of 95 football fans who were killed in Hillsborough Stadium during a semi-final cup game between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest clubs in 1989, a judge has ruled Friday.

Former chief superintendent David Duckenfield, who was the match commander on the day of disaster, will be charged with the manslaughter of 95 people by gross negligence.

The decision to prosecute Duckenfield was made by the Preston Crown Court Judge, Sir Peter Openshaw, who overturned a decision that prevented his trial for the past 18 years.

Four other individuals will also face trial alongside the former police commander, the court said.

The accused will not see charges related to a 96th victim, who died more than a year after the incident due to injuries he had sustained during the incident.

An inquest into the 1989 disaster at the Liverpool-Nottingham Forest FA Cup semi-final match in Sheffield concluded the fans had been “unlawfully killed” last year.

The public prosecutors will allege that Duckenfield’s failure to fulfill personal responsibilities on the day was “extraordinarily bad and contributed substantially to the deaths of each of those 96 people who so tragically and unnecessarily lost their lives”, according to a statement made following the inquest by Sue Hemming, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division.

A total of 95 people were killed or fatally injured on April 15, 1989, in Sheffield’s Hillsborough Stadium when a stampede crushed Liverpool fans after one of the gates into the stadium was opened in a crowd-easing measure to let people pour into already crowded stands.

The coroner’s inquest in 1991 ruled the deaths were accidental; however, the second inquest in 2016 said the fans were “unlawfully killed”.