Sinn Fein officials arrive in Colombia to support three IRA-linked men convicted of helping Marxist rebels
2:30 PM
Posted: Sunday, December 19, 2004
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Two members of Northern Ireland's IRA-linked Sinn Fein party arrived in Colombia on Saturday to meet lawyers for three Irishmen convicted of training Marxist rebels in terrorist tactics.
Gerry Kelly, a senior party figure, and Caitriona Ruane, who leads the Bring Them Home pressure group, said on their arrival in Bogota that they were deeply concerned by the ruling Thursday that overturned an earlier acquittal and sentenced James Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McCauley to 17 years in prison.
"The decision was made behind closed doors, without any hearings," Ruane told The Associated Press. "It's shocking."
In an embarrassment for Colombia's justice system, however, authorities say they have lost track of the trio since their release from prison in June. Ruane said she does not know where they are.
Interpol, the French-based international police agency, has said it is drawing up international arrest warrants for the three, who have all been linked to the Irish Republican Army.
The judge who cleared them of the terrorism-related charges in April but convicted them on the lesser charges of passport fraud ordered their release from prison provided they remain in the country, pending an appeal lodged by the attorney general's office.
They were supposed to report to authorities every week, but it later emerged that they never did.
Ruane said she and Kelly will meet with lawyers to draw up a response to the convictions. Lawyers have still not decided whether to appeal.
Ruane said they plan to hold a news conference Monday.
The Irishmen were arrested at Bogota's airport in August 2001 after leaving a stronghold of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, deep in southern jungles.
Authorities accused them of teaching FARC rebels how to make bombs. But Monaghan, McCauley and Connolly said they were innocent and were in Colombia as ecotourists and to observe the government's peace talks with the FARC, which collapsed six months after their arrest.
The FARC has been waging a 40-year-old struggle to topple the government in a conflict that kills more than 3,000 people every year.
Gerry Kelly, a senior party figure, and Caitriona Ruane, who leads the Bring Them Home pressure group, said on their arrival in Bogota that they were deeply concerned by the ruling Thursday that overturned an earlier acquittal and sentenced James Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McCauley to 17 years in prison.
"The decision was made behind closed doors, without any hearings," Ruane told The Associated Press. "It's shocking."
In an embarrassment for Colombia's justice system, however, authorities say they have lost track of the trio since their release from prison in June. Ruane said she does not know where they are.
Interpol, the French-based international police agency, has said it is drawing up international arrest warrants for the three, who have all been linked to the Irish Republican Army.
The judge who cleared them of the terrorism-related charges in April but convicted them on the lesser charges of passport fraud ordered their release from prison provided they remain in the country, pending an appeal lodged by the attorney general's office.
They were supposed to report to authorities every week, but it later emerged that they never did.
Ruane said she and Kelly will meet with lawyers to draw up a response to the convictions. Lawyers have still not decided whether to appeal.
Ruane said they plan to hold a news conference Monday.
The Irishmen were arrested at Bogota's airport in August 2001 after leaving a stronghold of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, deep in southern jungles.
Authorities accused them of teaching FARC rebels how to make bombs. But Monaghan, McCauley and Connolly said they were innocent and were in Colombia as ecotourists and to observe the government's peace talks with the FARC, which collapsed six months after their arrest.
The FARC has been waging a 40-year-old struggle to topple the government in a conflict that kills more than 3,000 people every year.
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