An Phoblacht/Republican News, May 8, 2004


Acquittal of Colombia 3 appealed


The Colombian attorney general's office has appealed the acquittal last month of three Irishmen it accused of teaching bomb-making to rebels in the country's civil war.

Jim Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McCauley will not be allowed to leave Colombia until the appeals process runs its course, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office said.

If the case reaches the Supreme Court this could take as long as five years, according to legal experts. The three men are refusing to leave a Bogota jail until the government provides them with protection against right-wing death-squads who kill those they suspect of sympathising with the rebels.

A judge last month dismissed the state's main charges, which were based on circumstantial evidence and testimony by alleged rebel defectors.

They have already spent 34 months behind bars, and their lawyers say they can leave prison for time served or on parole once they pay a fine of about €6,000 each.

But the men's representatives say they will not leave Bogota's Modelo prison without protection. So far the government has refused requests for a safehouse and bodyguards, the representatives said.

Sinn Féin TD Sean Crowe has called for the campaign to bring home the Colombia 3 to be intensified in the coming days. He was speaking after the Colombian Attorney General's office announced that it would be appealing against Judge Acosta'a verdict.

Deputy Crowe said:

"For almost two weeks now we have witnessed the farcical situation whereby three Irishmen, who have been found not guilty of the serious charges that they faced, continue to be detained in La Modela which is one of the most dangerous prisons in the world.

"The men are in constant danger and the only way that their safety can be guaranteed is if they are allowed to return home immediately.

"Given that the Attorney General has now lodged an appeal and it is not clear how long this process will take, the men should be allowed to travel home. I would call on the government to do all in their power to ensure that this happens."

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