Freedom on hold for Colombia Three

THREE Irishmen acquitted of training left-wing Colombian rebels yesterday could be detained indefinitely in South American until an appeal is heard.

Yesterday, a spokeswoman for the Colombian attorney general's office said it would appeal the ruling and consequently the men will not be able to leave Colombia while the case is under appeal.

The three, Jim Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McCauley, were arrested in August 2001 at Bogota's El Dorado international airport and subsequently charged with training the Marxist guerrillas of the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) in IRA bomb-making techniques and with travelling on false documentation.