A friend of one of the youngest of the 13 unarmed civilians shot dead by British army paratroopers in Derry on Bloody Sunday, said yesterday that allegations that his friend had been armed with a nail bomb on the day were untrue.
Mr Conal McFeely told the 407th day of the resumed inquiry that the only thing victim Mr Gerry Donaghy was armed with during the civil rights march in the Bogside area of Derry "was his innocence".
The inquiry into the killings on January 30th, 1972, which resumed in Derry's Guildhall yesterday following the Christmas recess, is expected to continue to hear civilian evidence for approximately another four weeks.
So far the inquiry, which was announced by British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair in January 1998, has heard from 876 witnesses since it started taking evidence in November 2000.
Four nail bombs were found on 17-year-old Mr Gerry Donaghy's body by soldiers and police officers shortly after he'd been shot.
However, many civilian witnesses have told the inquiry that Mr Donaghy was not armed with the explosive devices when he was shot.
Mr McFeely told the inquiry, which is chaired by Lord Saville of Newdigate, that in the period in which Mr Donaghy had been in his company on Bloody Sunday, he was unarmed.
"In terms of the clothes that he was wearing at that particular time, nail bombs I am assuming will be bulky, something you could not conceal. Gerry at that particular time was wearing denim jeans, Wranglers in actual fact.
"They were tight trousers. I would have seen nail bombs and there was no way that Gerry Donaghy had nail bombs on Bloody Sunday.
"The only thing that Gerry Donaghy was armed with on Bloody Sunday was his innocence," the witness said.
Mr McFeely, who is a member of the Bloody Sunday Trust, also told the inquiry that a large number of his peer group became involved in paramilitary actions as a result of the deaths.
"My entire generation was affected by the events of Bloody Sunday. As much as I wish for matters to move on in Northern Ireland, they cannot do so until the truth about Bloody Sunday is told and justice for the families of those killed and wounded on that fateful day is finally realised and acknowledged by the due process of law," he added.
Meanwhile the inquiry's three judges ruled yesterday that a Provisional IRA witness, known as PIRA 1, could give his evidence anonymously and from behind a screen to prevent his identity from becoming known.
In their ruling, the judges stated that the nature of PIRA 1's evidence and the confidential nature of the information which the judges had been provided with, persuaded them that the witness's Article 2 rights would be breached if he was both named and unscreened while giving his evidence.
Two other witnesses, one cyphered PIRA 18 and Official IRA 8, have also had their separate applications to give their evidence anonymously granted.
The inquiry continues.