Relatives of those killed on Bloody Sunday and their supporters packed into court on Friday but a screen prevented them from coming face to face with Soldier F.
The veteran had not attended any hearings in person since being charged in 2019.
He sat in the witness box, with a thick floor-to-ceiling blue curtain shielding him from the main body of the court to protect his anonymity.
He remained silent throughout the proceedings but the brother of Bloody Sunday victim William McKinney questioned the decision to shield Soldier F behind the curtain.
“Why is he screened today? During the inquiry we watched him for two days, he wasn’t screened then, we saw him,” said Michael McKinney.
“There were soldiers screened at the inquiry, we don’t know who or why, but Soldier F wasn’t one of them.”
However Mr McKinney maintained that the former soldier’s presence in Northern Ireland for the hearing was an important milestone in the case.
“I think today is an important day, to have Soldier F in the building and in Belfast - it should be Derry - but to have him back here that’s very important,” he said.
“Hopefully if the judge rules favourably in our behalf the case will proceed and we will take it from there.”
