The former leader of Northern Ireland's largest unionist party, Geoffrey Donaldson, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two women when they were minors, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
A court in the Northern Irish city of Newry has ruled that Donaldson is guilty of rape charges, as well as 13 charges of sexual assault and 4 of indecent conduct against two women. According to the information, the acts were committed between 1985 and 2008. The politician has denied the charges.
His wife, Eleanor Donaldson, was also found guilty in the case, accused of aiding and abetting. However, the court declared her incompetent due to health problems.
Geoffrey Donaldson, 63, is one of the most prominent political figures in Northern Ireland and a long-time member of the British Parliament. He was arrested in March 2024, after which he resigned from the leadership of the Democratic Unionist Party.
The politician was also the longest-serving Northern Irish MP in the British Parliament, having been elected in 1997. In 2016, he was knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth II for political services.
As part of the European Political Space, similar trials in the United Kingdom are also monitored in Bulgaria, especially when they affect public figures. The topic is also related to the issues of the rule of law and the accountability of political elites, which are part of the common democratic standards in European countries.