IRA suspects refuse to leave their cell ahead of Colombian trial

Vanessa Arrington

The three refused to be moved from their prison in Bogota to the court, saying they feared for their safety, said a prison spokeswoman.

The hearing was postponed until October 16, said prosecutor Carlos Sanchez.

Outside the nine-storey court house in the Colombian capital protesters screamed 'Killers!' and carried signs one of which read 'IRA, go home and kill your own people'.

"We find it intolerable that the IRA is coming to Colombia," Juan Carlos Pulido, a leader of Wounded Colombia, the foundation that organised the protest.

James Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McCauley were arrested in Bogota's airport 14 months ago after visiting a rebel stronghold in southern Colombia, where they allegedly trained the insurgents in explosives and other terrorist techniques.

Prosecutors have charged that the three men used false passports to enter Colombia. Once in the country, they trained the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc, in terrorist tactics and explosives, prosecutors have said. If convicted, each faces 15 to 20 years in prison.

''These three men must not become victims or guinea pigs in this global fight against terrorism,'' said Pedro Mahecha, Monaghan's lawyer.

The judge had been expected to rule yesterday on whether there was enough evidence to send the trio for trial.

The men's lawyers said the case is based on flimsy evidence and full of procedural errors. They said the three men were arrested by military officials, even though the army doesn't have the power to make arrests.

The men said they were visiting Colombia to study the peace process, according to their lawyers. Then-President Andres Pastrana ceded a Switzerland-sized territory to the rebels to lure them to the negotiating table.

As many as 15 IRA members visited the rebel stronghold during the three-year peace talks, according to a US congressional report. The report charged that the Farc has begun using techniques common to IRA attacks, like the home-made mortars mounted on trucks that the IRA pioneered in the 1980s.

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams initially denied any knowledge of the three men or their activities in Colombia. Later he acknowledged Connolly was the Cuba based Latin American representative for the party.

Monaghan is an IRA veteran who was convicted in 1971 of possessing explosives and conspiring to cause explosions. McCauley was wounded during a police ambush at an IRA arms dump in 1982 and was later convicted of weapons possession.