Sinn Féin condemns Colombia trial ‘travesty’

SINN FÉIN president Gerry Adams last night welcomed news the three Irishmen held in Colombia were to be released and called on the Government to “ensure the men get home safely to their families”.

Mr Adams added: “The last three years have been very difficult for the men and their families. They have been pilloried in the media, their case subject to huge prejudicial commentary and the men’s lives have been in constant danger.”

He added: “Of course this case has been used to try and destabilise the Irish peace process.”

But Northern Assembly member Gerry Kelly said there was a lot of anger that the process had taken so long and had been subject to such “political interference”.

Mr Kelly said the verdict was welcome and would come as a huge relief to the men’s families and friends.

“Despite the obvious collapse of the prosecution case last year it was never certain that the men would be released and sent home, there was always a concern due to the pressure on the judge from the Colombian government and the military.”

He said from the very moment of their arrests the three men had not been subject to a fair legal process.

“Their basic rights were denied, there was extensive false reporting in the media and the investigation was closed before key witnesses were interviewed.

“There was also ongoing political interference in the trial,” he said.

It was now “vital” the men were given safe escort out of the country, said Mr Kelly.

“This whole episode has been a travesty for the men and their families and they should now be allowed to get on with their lives in peace,” he added.

Democratic Unionist Policing Board member Ian Paisley Jnr claimed that, while the three men had been “let off”, clear links existed between the IRA and Farc.

“Provo tactics, honed against the people of Northern Ireland over a 30-year period, have already brought death and destruction, IRA-style, to the streets of Bogota and Medellin,” the North Antrim assembly member said.

“There are still questions which Sinn Féin/IRA must answer, such as the extent of their links to worldwide terrorist groupings, what their representatives were doing travelling deep in Farc territory on illegal documents and what is their connection to the despicable Castro regime in Cuba.”

Mr Paisley said had the men been convicted, there would have been “massive repercussions” for the peace process.

He added: “There will, no doubt, now be homecoming celebrations for these men.

“It will be interesting to see what political party is at the FARC jungle farce in numbers to welcome them home.”

Reg Empey of the Ulster Unionist Party said major questions remained to be answered following the men’s acquittal on charges of training Farc rebels.

The assembly member said: “Huge question marks still remain as to why the three men involved were travelling with false documents.

“If their reason for being in Colombia was benign then why travel with false passports and ID documents,” he said.