Colombia Three 'have case to answer' says judge

A Colombian court has ruled that the three suspected IRA men, alleged to have been involved in training anti-government Farc guerrillas, have "a case to answer".

In yesterday afternoon's ruling, Judge Jairo Acosta said that the case would go forward and set the date for the beginning of the trial for December 2.

Yesterday's hearing in the Colombian capital, Bogota, went ahead despite the detainees' refusal to attend. It was the second time in two weeks that they had stayed in their cells in protest at what they describe as "a barrage of prejudice".

The Colombia Three – Jim Monaghan, Martin McCauley and Niall Connolly – were arrested at Bogota International Airport in August last year for carrying false Irish passports. They were subsequently charged with assisting in training Farc guerrillas in a west Colombian "safe haven".

Whilst they did not appear in court, a declaration – signed by all three – was read out on their behalf which claimed that the trio were tourists, in Colombia to learn from peace initiatives between Farc and the government. They further claimed their "lives have been in constant danger" whilst in Colombian prisons.

They added: "We visited Colombia to get to know the people, the natural beauty and the peace process between President Andres Pastrana and the Farc guerrillas."

The declaration also claimed that the case had been tainted by prejudicial statements, which endangered the prospects for a fair trial.

"After our arrest, high-ranking Colombian officials made numerous declarations saying that we are guilty and should be convicted. This is a violation of our rights and internationally recognised guarantees," the statement read.

The declaration cited an article by President Andres Pastrana in the 'Washington Post' which stated that "IRA members were captured in Colombia after training Farc guerrillas in urban terrorism”.

The declaration continued: "Since the original allegations shortly after our arrest, we have been subjected to a barrage of prejudice. Press and media stories alleging our guilt have been published practically every week since our arrest.

"The presumption of innocence is a fundamental principle of international law. We are innocent until proven guilty and entitled to challenge any evidence adduced at a public trial."

The three men then called on the Irish government to send an official legal observer to the trial.

The arraignment hearing also took witness statements from Sinn Fein's Gerry Kelly and former Sinn Fein press officer Danny Morrison.

(GMcG)