Long campaign bears fruit for three

THE three Irishman were arrested in August 2001 as they prepared to board a plane back to Ireland after spending some time in the rebel FARC-controlled area of Colombia.

They were arrested on suspicion of travelling under false documents, and later the charge was put to them that they helped trained the left wing movement in the use of mortars.

It soon emerged that two of the three, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan, had been members of the IRA. The third, Niall Connolly, from a well-known south Dublin family, was described as the Cuban-based South American representative of Sinn Fein, though this was initially denied by the party.

The prosecution case centred on three elements the false passports, forensic evidence allegedly gathered from the belongings of at least one of the men, and eyewitness accounts from former FARC members.

Mortars used by FARC have had a devastating impact in recent years. One barrage killed 17 people in an attack timed to coincide with the inauguration of President Alvaro Uribe.

The defence uncovered strong alibi evidence to counter the eyewitness claims made against Mr Monaghan and Mr Connolly.

Campaigners for the three have carried out a formidable publicity blitz on behalf of the Irishmen. They argued the three had no chance of receiving a fair trial in front of the one-judge, no-jury Colombian court, and senior officials in the country, right up to the President, had made prejudicial remarks.

Colombia's vice president, on a visit here, launched a vigorous defence of the country's judicial system.

While Sinn Féin has been careful to distance itself officially from the campaigners, Caitriona Ruane, a Sinn Féin Northern Assembly member has been the most high-profile of the Bring Them Home campaigners. But singer Christy Moore and others also supported the campaign.

Fianna Fáil Senator Mary White said she did not believe they had received a fair trial.

The Colombia Three case was never just about whether the Irishmen were training FARC guerrillas or, as Mr Monaghan put it, to "see the peace process but also to have a holiday". They were arrested just a month before September 11, the day the global "war on terror" really began.

Any connections between FARC and the IRA, would have profound implications for the peace processes in both countries.