The columbia three verdict due tomorrow.

international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report

Thursday April 22, 2004 18:16

by Shinner - Sinn Fein

The verdict in the case of three Irish men charged with travelling on false passports and training rebels in Colombia is expected to be delivered within days.

The verdict in the case of three Irish men charged with travelling on false passports and training rebels in Colombia is expected to be delivered within days.
The trial of James Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McAuley ended in Bogota more than eight months ago.
They are accused of training left-wing Farc rebels in the use of explosives and using false documentation.
The men were arrested in August 2001 as they stepped off a plane from an area which was a stronghold of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).
The three men had previously refused to attend the trial because of fears for their safety, but later in the trial they protested their innocence in addresses to the non-jury court.
Journalist Mark Duffy, who has been following the case, said it was at the very last stage.
"We have been waiting for just over nine months for a verdict which was postponed on three different occasions.
"It now looks like on Friday - or Monday of next week at the latest - that the judge will finally pronounce on the case of the three Irish men.
"I spoke to the judge on Wednesday afternoon and he told me it would be Friday or Monday, but it was really impossible to get any idea of what way he was thinking on this.
"If the men are found guilty, then there is the possibility that they could receive between 15 and 20 years in prison.
"That is for the most serious charge of training the Farc guerillas in Colombia.
"On the lesser charge of entering the country on false documents, they could just be deported within days or possibly a week of the verdict being announced."
'Treated differently'
Sinn Fein assembly member, Catriona Ruane, who has been in charge of the campaign to free the men, is now on her way to Colombia.
She said it was not clear how the verdict would be given.
"There is some confusion about that generally," she told BBC Radio Ulster on Thursday.
"In Colombia what happens is that a letter is delivered to the jail by the court authorities and there isn't a public announcement.
"There are some rumours that there will be a public announcement - this case hasn't been normal, it has been abnormal and treated differently to a lot of other cases."
Mr McAuley is from Northern Ireland, while the other two are from the Irish Republic.

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Comments (5 of 5)

RE:

by Rebel without a job

Fri Apr 23, 2004 04:56

I think that the court may well deport the three because it has been postponed for so long, if they were to be sentced to prision it would have been over wih by now.

Get a job rebel

by rooster

Sat Apr 24, 2004 18:00

I think thats a bit of wishful thinking from the idiot brigade, the only reason the court case is taking so long is because it is a free and fair trial and not the show trial that the soap dodgers thought it would be!

That's ColOmbia with an O

by Ali la Pointe - fu-fighting anti-imperialistas

Sun Apr 25, 2004 14:48

thecaptain at warpmail dot net

According to today's Sunday Tribune the Judge, in a move consistent with having turned the juryless trial into a TV soap fanfare, is expected to hold a press conference tomorrow to announce the verdict. Under Colombian law, the charge of using false identification carries a sentence of 2-8 years. The article hinted that the judge might shy away from a guilty verdict on the charges of aiding FARC since the prosecution case is so flimsy and inconsistent. Although a guilty verdict and 20 or so year sentence for the three might satisfy the Colombian elite's and media's bloodlust, doing so runs the risk of putting the international spotlight on The Colombian State's appalling human rights record and the judicial system's chronic lack of due process. It is thought more likely therefore that the Judge will settle for a guilty verdict on the false ID charge and impose the maximum 8 year sentence on the three to keep the vultures happy.

BRING THEM HOME

by BRING THEM HOME! - BRING THEM HOME!

Mon Apr 26, 2004 13:13

lauracrawford3737 at yahoo dot com

THose men do not deserve the unfair trial that they have been given..God Bless them & BRING THEM HOME!!

bring them home

by james

Mon Apr 26, 2004 16:05

good luck lads hope to see you soon

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The columbia three verdict due tomorrow.

Comments (5 of 5)