Aidan McAnespie killing: Ex-soldier David Holden to appeal conviction

An ex-soldier who was given a suspended sentence for killing an unarmed man at an Army checkpoint in Northern Ireland intends to challenge his conviction.

David Holden was the first soldier to be convicted of a Troubles-era killing in Northern Ireland since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

The victim of the 1988 shooting was 23-year-old Aidan McAnespie.

He was killed by a bullet that ricocheted off the road and hit him in the back at a County Tyrone checkpoint.

Holden, who was found guilty of manslaughter last November, was later sentenced to three years in prison but the judge suspended the term for three years.

At the Court of Appeal in Belfast on Thursday, lawyers for Holden, 53, confirmed his intention to challenge the conviction.

Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan agreed to set aside two days to hear the case in either October or November.

The former soldier's barrister disclosed that he is not appealing the term imposed.

Instead, the challenge is solely focused on attempting to have the guilty verdict overturned.

With his client's liberty not an issue, his barrister told the court he was not seeking an urgent hearing.

Dame Siobhan offered alternative dates in the autumn after stressing the need to deal with the appeal.

"It seems quite far away and it's not my making to postpone the case," she added.

Mr McAnespie was walking through a checkpoint in the village of Aughnacloy on his way to attend a Gaelic football match when the fatal shot was fired.

Holden, who is now in his early 50s, was 18 at the time of the shooting on 21 February 1988.

He was a member of the Grenadier Guards and was carrying out his first day of checkpoint duties.

The trial was told that Mr McAnespie was known to security forces as a "person of interest" as he was suspected of being a member of the IRA.

He was not armed or posing any threat when he was shot by Holden.

During the trial, the defendant claimed the shooting was an accident and that he did not intend to fire his weapon.

The trial heard that Holden did not realise the machine gun was cocked.

The defendant also claimed his hands were wet at the time and his finger slipped on the trigger of the gun, discharging three shots, one of which struck Mr McAnespie.

However, the judge did not accept Holden's account of what happened.