Government urged to intervene in Colombia Three case

Deric Henderson

Sinn Féin’s Mid Ulster MP Martin McGuinness claimed: “the situation is now very dangerous”.

James Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McCauley were last month cleared of training Marxist FARC rebels, but convicted of a lesser charge of travelling on false documents.

However, they must remain in the country until an appeal is heard and it could be several months before a decision is taken. The three have been free to leave prison in Bogota since the verdict was announced more than a fortnight ago, but supporters have refused to pay fines imposed by the court, saying their lives will be at risk outside the jail.

Mr McGuinness yesterday called on ministers to make new representations and have the three allowed home until the prosecution appeal is heard. He said the legal process could take years to complete.

He added: “Every hour that the men remain in Colombia their lives are in grave danger. They cannot be protected in prison in Bogota, and the Colombian authorities have turned down all requests to ensure the men’s safety.”

A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Government had urged the Colombian authorities to allow the men to leave the country pending the hearing in light of the security situation there.

She said the Government would be continuing to emphasise the need to provide appropriate security to assure the men’s safety.

The Colombian attorney general’s office is appealing the not guilty verdicts on the terrorism charges. Judge Jairo Acosta ruled they could not leave the country while the case is under appeal, reportedly expressing fears they may not return.

Stormont Assembly Sinn Féin member Catríona Ruane, who headed the campaign to have the men freed following their August 2001 arrests, said the appeal process could take months.

“The problem for us, the three men and the Irish Government is that there is no safe place in Colombia for these men,” she said. “It would be like the British appealing the Birmingham Six case and then the Birmingham Six having to stay in England until the appeal was completed.”

Monaghan, from Co Donegal, received a 44-month sentence; McCauley, from Co Armagh, got 36 months and Dubliner Connolly 26 months on the false documents charges. The three had insisted they were in Colombia to study the country’s peace process.