Court refuses to let Colombia Three go home

A COURT in Colombia last night refused to allow three Irishmen, who were cleared of charges of instructing guerilla fighters, to return home.

James Monaghan, Martin McCauley and Niall Connolly were cleared last month of training FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) guerrillas in bomb-making techniques but were convicted of the lesser offence of using false passports.

The court rejected a request to allow the men to leave the country while an appeal against the verdict is being lodged by the South American country’s attorney general.

A spokesperson for the campaign to have the men returned to Ireland said she was unsure how long the appeal process would take.

The three were arrested at Bogota's El Dorado international airport on August 11, 2001 and subsequently charged with training the Marxist guerrillas of the FARC in IRA bomb-making techniques and with travelling on false documentation.

Following the verdicts last month, provision was made for the three to be released from the Bogota prison once fines of about $7,000 (5,925) each were paid.

Monaghan, 58, 41-year-old McCauley and Connolly, 38, have been in a variety of Colombian prisons in the 31 months between their arrest and the end of the trial.

Their supporters have repeatedly expressed fears for their safety as long as they remain in Colombia. A number of TDs and senators have backed calls to allow the men to go home.