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The Bring Them Home Campaign, based in Ireland, helped co-ordinate the legal defence of the men and brought over international observers comprising lawyers, politicians and human rights defenders from Europe, the United States and Australia to each stage of the trial. It was obvious from the first day of the trial that elements of the Colombian Military and the Attorney General’s office had no case against the three Irishmen and that they were intent on fabricating a case. The Irishmen gave a declaration to the court denying that they had trained the FARC. They expressed their support for the Irish peace process and said they hoped there would be a peace process in Colombia. The men were represented by human rights lawyers in Colombia, the Jose Alvear Restrepo lawyers collective, who won the Martin Ennals Human Rights Award in 2003 and the Federation for Solidarity with Political Prisoners.
Judge for Yourself Arrested illegally in El Dorado Airport Bogota on the 11th August
2001, Niall Connolly, Jim Monaghan and Martin McCauley were held without
charge for six months in constant fear of their lives. They were charged in January 2002 with the use of false
documentation and training the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC) in rebellion. Their trial began in October 2002 and concluded in August 2003.
A 25 year old Colombian, serving a jail sentence in Villa Vicencio when he gave evidence. He gave evidence in February 2003 and claimed that he was outside the door of the room where he claimed Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan were training the FARC from 5th - 25th February 2001. Defence Evidence The defence provided the court with three original DVD tapes and NSTC (American) VHS copies of videos. Video No.1: 7th February 2001 – Coiste na n-Iarchimi offices in Dublin: Jim Monaghan introduced the speakers, Becky Garcia, whose son was killed by the FARC and Mary Kelly. More than 10 people were present at the talk. Jim Monaghan thanked the speakers on tape and was visibly present throughout the entire discussion. This video tape was played in court by the Judge in April. The defence provided authenticated sworn Affidavits from people in the video and the person who filmed the discussion. The defence presented to the court at the hearing on 16th June:
Video No.2: 21st February 2001 – Coiste na n-Iarchimi Offices in Dublin: Sean Kinsella, an ex-prisoner from England gave a presentation to a group of people about his experiences in English jails. Jim Monaghan was visibly present throughout the discussion. This video tape was played by the Judge in court in April. The defence provided authenticated sworn affidavits from people in the video and the person who filmed the discussion. Video No.3: 22nd February 2001 – Coiste na n-Iarchimi Offices in Belfast: Catherine Murphy was commissioned by Coiste na n-Iarchimi to carry out a series of training sessions on presentation skills. At the end of the training session each of the participants had to make a five minute presentation on camera on peace and reconciliation in front of the other participants on the course and Catherine Murphy. Jim Monaghan appears on the video making his presentation. After his presentation there was a discussion on the presentation. Robert Russell refers to an article written by Irish News Columnist Brian Feeney, and talks about its content. When RTE (Irish National television and Radio) contacted Brian Feeney to enquire about the content of his article on the date mentioned in the video it was verified and RTE showed clips of the video with an interview with Catherine Murphy. The defence presented the court with sworn authenticated affidavits from Catherine Murphy, Michelle Devlin (the person who filmed the video) and all the participants in the video. Invoices and receipts paid to Catherine Murphy were presented to the court. These invoices were verified and stamped by the Belfast European Partnership Board, part of the European Peace and Reconciliation Funds. The defence brought Catherine Murphy and Michelle Devlin out to Colombia in April and on two occasions requested that the Judge call both these witnesses to give evidence. Both these requests were denied by Judge Acosta. Prosecution Witness 2. John Alexander Caviedes He was in a witness protection programme. The prosecution claimed that he was a civilian witness though in court in Medellin he admitted that he was living in a military barracks prior to giving evidence and that he met with Colombian Military Intelligence Captain Pulido (the Captain who arrested the men). He claimed that he saw the men training the FARC in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. He gave evidence on three different occasions and each time it was riddled with inconsistencies. Defence Evidence The defence provided three alibi witnesses to refute the allegations given by Mr. Caviedes. Witness 1: Sile Maguire,
first secretary in the Embassy of Ireland in Mexico. The Irish government
waived Ms. Maguire’s diplomatic immunity to give evidence. Ms.
Maguire verified that she and Irish parliamentarians Jim O’Keeffe,
Madeleine Taylor Quinn and Ben Briscoe had dinner with Niall Connolly
on 17th January 2001. She also verified that she spoke to Niall Connolly
in Cuba four weeks prior to 17th January 2001. The defence provided the court with work records for Jim Monaghan for these periods. The defence presented further authenticated affidavits from employers, colleagues and alibi witnesses to the court.
Defence Forensics Dr. Keith Borer, a world renowned independent forensic scientist, travelled to Colombia to give evidence in the case. Dr. Borer had examined all the materials in relation to the forensic tests carried out by the US Embassy official and stated in court that there was no forensic evidence against the three men. He also gave evidence stating that from what was presented to the court, there had been no change in FARC technology and that FARC and IRA technology are very different. This shows that there was no evidence that these three men were training the FARC.
Colombia 3 NOT GUILTY! Colombian verdict welcomed Sinn Féin North Belfast MLA Gerry Kelly has described the decision to free the three Irishmen, who have been detained in Colombia for almost three years now, as welcome but said that there was a lot of anger that the process had taken so long and had been subject to such political interference. Mr. Kelly said "it is vital that the men now have safe escort out of the country to come home to their families." Mr. Kelly said: "Today's verdict from Judge Jairo Acosta is welcome and will come as a huge relief to the men's families and friends and to those who have been campaigning for their release for almost three years now. Despite the obvious collapse of the prosecution case last year it was never certain that the men would be released and sent home, there was always a concern due to the pressure on the Judge from the Colombian government and the military. "From the very moment of their arrests Martin McCauley, Jim Monaghan and Niall Connolly were not subject to a fair legal process. Their basic rights were denied, there was extensive false reporting in the media and the investigation was closed before key witnesses were interviewed. There was also ongoing political interference in the trial. "It is vital that the men now have safe escort out of the country to come home to their families. "This whole episode has been a travesty for the men and their families and they should now be allowed to get on with their lives in peace."
Acquittal of the Bogotá 3 - Interview with Caitriona Ruane TOM Comment: This article was written before Niall, Martin and Jim The acquittal in Bogotá of three Irishmen falsely accused of terrorism is an embarrassing setback for the Colombian government. It is also compelling evidence of the deep duplicity of the British government and its Unionist allies in Ireland. Similarly, it underlines the dishonesty of much of the international news media, whose coverage overwhelmingly presumed the three men's guilt. The acquittal is an important win for determined human rights defenders in Colombia and the rest of Latin America. Here Caitriona Ruane, coordinator of the campaign to release the three, talks about the case and continuing dangers preventing the men returning home.
As you read this, three Irishmen are in hiding in fear of their lives somewhere in Colombia, despite being acquitted of the serious charges laid against them. They are being forced to remain in Colombia, their lives in grave danger from right wing Colombian paramilitaries. Please take action E-mail the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and urge him to ensure that the men are allowed to return home webmaster@taoiseach.gov.ie
Colombia Three Sentenced to 17 Years The three Irishmen who were acquitted of training FARC rebels in Colombia have today been sentenced to seventeen years imprisonment following an appeal by Colombia's Attorney General. Caitriona Ruane, spokesperson for the Colombia Three 'Bring Then Home' campaign, speaking after news of the verdict against Martin McCauley, Jim Monaghan and Niall Connolly said: "This is a huge blow to the families of these three men who never expected this decision. Coming in the mouth of Christmas it will be especially difficult for the eight children of the three men. "Today's decision by the appeal court in Colombia is a miscarriage of justice of mammoth proportions. "These three Irish men spent three years in prison before being found innocent by a court which examined all the evidence - or lack of evidence - against them. "That decision has now been overturned in what can only be regarded as a political decision by the Colombian courts. "I am calling on the Irish government, at the highest level, to intervene to defend the rights of Jim Monaghan, Martin McAuley and Niall Connolly. "The campaign to free the Colombia Three will now be intensified. We will be involving human rights and civil liberty groups across the world in a determined effort to expose the injustice done today and to secure the safe return of these three Irishmen". Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly described the verdict against Martin McCauley, Jim Monaghan and Niall Connolly as an enormous denial of justice. He said, "There is disbelief and anger that the men have been sentenced to seventeen years despite the fact that they had no case to answer. I am calling on the Irish government to intervene and demand that the men are immediately brought home." Mr Kelly added: "From the very moment of their arrest Martin McCauley, Jim Monaghan and Niall Connolly's basic rights were denied, there was extensive false reporting in the media and the investigation was closed before key witnesses were interviewed. "There was persistent political interference in the judicial process. "No evidence was presented to substantiate any of the serious charges laid against these men. "It was obvious to anyone who followed the trial that the men had no case to answer on the major charge. "There was no forensic evidence against the men and key prosecution witnesses were discredited when all three Irishmen were able to prove to the court that they were not in Colombia on the dates the witnesses claimed to have seen them. "Despite being found innocent by the court that examined the case against the men, they have now been sentenced to seventeen years imprisonment. "Today's verdict is a breathtaking denial of justice. "There is disbelief and anger at what has occurred today. "I am calling on the Irish government to intervene and demand that the men are brought home immediately." Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams MP has also expressed anger and outrage at decision in respect of the Colombia three. Mr Adams said: "This is a grievous miscarriage of justice, which will come as no great surprise given the record of human rights abuses by the Colombian government."
Echo Opinion: Colombia reverses judge's courageous ruling By Stephen McCabe On six separate occasions I visited Bogota, Colombia, to observe the trial of the so-called Colombia Three who were charged by the Colombian government with aiding the FARC revolutionaries and traveling on false documents. I was asked to observe this trial due to fears that the men could not receive a fair trial in Colombia which is world renowned for its corruption, narcotics trafficking by all elements of the political spectrum and a judicial system highlighted by its lack of fairness and due process. Jurists and attorneys are routinely threatened and intimidated and it was felt that only by the presence of international observers could a fair trial be remotely possible considering the political atmosphere surrounding this case. The observers included a member of the European Parliament, a member of the Irish Senate, a member of the Irish Parliament, a member of the Northern Irish Assembly, a member of the Australian New South Wales Assembly, representatives of human rights organizations and many distinguished attorneys from the United States and Australia. These observers represented every shade of political opinion and learning. The trial was also extensively covered by members of the media not only from Latin American countries but also from Europe and America. At the beginning of the trial it would not be unfair to state that most people were convinced that the men would be convicted. However, as the trial proceeded and the "testimony" of the prosecution unfolded, it became clear to everyone, observers, the media and the man in the street, that there simply was no case against the three men The forensics testimony was pitiable. The only positive forensic findings were those conducted by representatives of the United States in a military barracks replete with traces of explosives. The Colombia authorities then conducted over 100 tests and they all proved negative. The only live witness to testify on behalf of the prosecution regarding the activities of the men was a "defector" from the FARC who was under the "protection" of the army ("protection" from what, I would like to know). Another witness refused to appear in court and his testimony was taken by written questions in a distant city. The reason he could not appear, according to the Colombian government, was that it was too expensive to fly him into Bogota. It was determined that the flight would have cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $250. The testimony of these two "witnesses" was that they observed the three men going training to the FARC at very specific time periods. This entire line of testimony proved to be perjurious when it was clearly demonstrated that the men were not in Colombia at the times testified to. To begin with, a member of the Irish diplomatic delegation testified that she had dinner with one of them in another country at the time it was testified he was in Colombia. Highly reliable videos were admitted into evidence clearly demonstrating that another of the three was in Ireland at the time it was testified that he was in Colombia. Indisputable records were introduced concerning the third accused showing that he was also in Ireland at the times in question. A highly respected medical doctor buttressed this testimony. Colombia, where some 3,000 kidnappings occur per year, is a very dangerous place. It would be a particularly dangerous place to any jurist who had the temerity to acquit these three accused if he could find even the flimsiest of evidence to hang his hat on. But no such evidence was adduced. So even a judge in Colombia, who no doubt feared for the safety of not only himself but his family, acquitted the three men of the serious charges and fined them for the lesser offense of traveling on false documents. Needless to say, the verdict was an unpopular one in certain quarters, particularly in the higher echelons of the Attorney General's office, which was shown, at the very least, to be inept and, more obviously, to be corrupt, since the judge, in his opinion, called for an investigation into the clearly perjurious nature of the testimony proffered. It has been reported over and over again that the Attorney General's office has been infiltrated by paramilitary elements and sympathizers. No doubt elements of the army were also unhappy with this verdict. Having observed the judge during the course of the trial it is clear that he is not a stupid man, although there might be those who would say that he may very well be stupid for rendering a verdict such as this. But to all observers it is the only correct verdict that could have been rendered after listening to the evidence. So-called commentators and also politicians in different countries have also applauded the new verdict. None of them witnessed the trial. I doubt if they have ever read any portion of the trial transcript. On what do they base their opinions? Third-hand rumors generated by drug traffickers? Stories planted by agents with interests in drug trade profits? Politicians interested in maintaining the status quo in a country beset by a civil war over 40 years old? Operatives hopeful to deflect attention from their own activities? We are now confronted with the spectacle of a judicial tribunal reversing this courageous jurist, finding the men guilty and sentencing them to 17 years in prison without ever having listened to one live witness and presumably only by reading a transcript of the trial. While in Colombia the observers met with Vice President Santos, high-ranking members of the judiciary, executive branch and UN observers. We were repeatedly told that the Colombian judicial system required extensive overhauling and that they all wished this would be done in order to establish a fair and just judicial system which would conform with internationally recognized standards of due process and fair play. Tragically, the only verdict that could have been rendered by any sincere observer of the trial has been reversed, three men who were acquitted stand facing a 17-year sentence in Columbian prisons and the Colombian judicial system stands disgraced in the eyes of the world. (Stephen McCabe is an attorney and member of the Brehon Law Society. He was an international observer at the trial of the Colombia Three.)
Mammoth miscarriage of justice - Nightmare continues for the Colombia 3 On 16 December, eight months after Niall Connolly, Jim Monaghan and Martin McCauley were found innocent by a Colombian judge, the verdict was overturned by an appeal court and they were handed down sentences of over 17 years each on trumped up charges of training left-wing FARC guerrillas. The three men, arrested in Bogota in August 2001, had endured a 33-month nightmare up until their vindication in April of last year. They had remained in Colombia pending an appeal by the country's notoriously anti-human rights Attorney General Luis Camilo Osorio, but had left prison and gone into hiding shortly after Judge Jairo Acosta cleared them of the serious charges levelled against them. The men, their families and supporters, the Bring Them Home campaign, human rights organisations from across the globe, and the Dublin Government, had expected them to be home for Christmas. But nine days before Christmas, the Colombian authorities dropped a bombshell. Behind closed doors, with no new evidence and only the transcripts of the original trial, which had found the men innocent, three judges had found the men guilty. Osorio immediately issued an arrest warrant for the three men and called in Interpol to help find them. Speaking exclusively to An Phoblacht on Tuesday, spokesperson for the Bring Them Home campaign, Sinn Féin MLA Caitríona Ruane was incensed at the reversal of the verdict. "What we have here is a mammoth miscarriage of justice along the scale of the Birmingham Six and Guildford Four," Ruane said. "This is a travesty of justice of international proportions. There are enormous questions around the role of the state in this decision, particularly the Attorney General's office, and the Colombian Army and security services. What we now have is Osorio and his office trying to drum up international support for this decision. His record stands; he is the problem and he is bringing disrepute to the Colombian legal system." Ruane travelled to Colombia with fellow Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly soon after the ruling was made public to discuss the legal options now open to Connolly, Monaghan and McCauley. The Bring Them Home campaign will lobby intensively for the original verdict to be reinstated. After a trial which lasted ten months, and 33 months after they were first arrested and detained, the Colombia Three were found innocent on 27 April 2004 of charges of training left-wing guerrillas. The trial judge dismissed the evidence provided by the prosecution and ordered an investigation into the two 'eye witnesses' brought to the trial by the Attorney General's Office. "It was obvious to everyone that the prosecution case had been worthless and serious questions were being asked about the role of the Attorney General's Office in fabricating evidence and preparing witnesses to perjure themselves," Caitríona Ruane told An Phoblacht. "Six-and-a-half months later, following an appeal by the Attorney General's Office, we have a decision by three magistrates who met behind closed doors, who never spoke to any of the witnesses or defence lawyers. "It is also important to note that in this appeal no new evidence was presented." The new judgement is 144 pages long and 32 of these pages repeated the prosecution arguments. Not even one page is given over to the defence arguments. "This is a political judgement made by the Colombian Authorities," Ruane said. She added that the Bring Them Home campaign is currently exploring all international legal and political options open to the men. "The worrying thing is that any of the options will take a minimum of three years," she said. Threats She also told us that both herself and Gerry Kelly feared they would not get home for Christmas after a threatening statement was issued by the Attorney General. "While we were there, Mr Osorio made threatening statements against organisations and people that worked closely with the three men," she said. "We are used to his bullying and intimidation. We have suffered it since August 2001 when the men were arrested. I have travelled on more than 20 occasions to Colombia during the past three and half years. Many of our international observers travelled more than eight times for the trial. His bullying and crude intimidation has never stopped us campaigning for the rights of Martin, Niall and Jim. His most recent statements certainly will not stop us. "This campaign will continue, intensify and internationalise. People throughout the world have shown that they are not prepared to accept this blatant violation of rights." So far, the Dublin Government has been relatively quiet on the subject of the men. In response to intensive questioning from the Bring Them Home campaign, it was stated that the Attorney General was examining the new judgement. But the comments of Tánaiste Mary Harney in the wake of the sentences have not been helpful. Harney called for the men to hand themselves in, saying the Dublin government did not want to "cut across the judicial system in another country". Harney went onto say that her main concern was "human rights issues", nevertheless she was "not in a position to comment on whether or not the men had a fair trial". "Those comments were incredible," said Ruane. "By any objective analysis, three Irish citizens did not receive a fair trial. I am calling on the Irish Government, at the highest level, to intervene to defend the rights of Jim Monaghan, Martin McAuley and Niall Connolly," Ruane said. "We are planning to bring the case of these three Irishmen and EU citizens to the EU Parliament. We are not going to stop with this until these men get the justice they deserve." A breathtaking denial of justice Speaking over Christmas, Gerry Kelly, who travelled to Colombia after the verdict was announced, said the situation was a breathtaking denial of justice. "There is disbelief and anger at what has occurred," he said. "It was obvious to anyone who followed the trial that the men had no case to answer on the major charge." Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said the verdict was a "grievous miscarriage of justice, which will come as no great surprise given the record of Human Rights abuses by the Colombian Government".
A record of human rights abuses Colombian Attorney General Luis Camilo Osorio, the man who pursued the overturning of the acquittal of the Colombia Three, has a long and frightening record of human rights abuses in the Latin American country. In 2004, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, released a damning report into rights violations in Colombia and documented some of Osorio's dubious history. During 2004, the UN office in Colombia registered complaints of violations of the right to life, to physical integrity, to personal freedoms and security, to due process and judicial guarantees, and to the independence and impartiality of the judicial system. Growing numbers of complaints were made regarding violations of human rights by public servants, in particular the Security Forces, on several occasions jointly with the Attorney General's Office. In the report, Arbour said the main concern was the increase in the numbers of complaints regarding arbitrary or illegal detentions, forced disappearances and extrajudicial executions. In addition to this, the number of torture and mistreatment complaints had grown. The situation of Colombian journalists (the majority of which were forced to toe their respective papers' lines condemning the Colombia Three) was described as precarious, demonstrating limitations with regard to the exercise of the right to freedom of opinion, expression and information. During Osorio's term in office, the numbers in Colombian jails have swelled and yet the murderers of those in opposition to the government, like union members, (in 2002, 52 trade unionists were murdered, in 2003, 160 trade unionists were killed and 79 remain 'disappeared') have remained at large. Osorio has also been accused of slowing down and blocking critical human rights investigations by firing the prosecutors preparing cases involving the military. In many regions, prosecutors are simply too afraid to aggressively investigate, fearing both death threats and lack of institutional support for their investigations. In 2002, six human rights prosecutors and one judicial investigator requested special protective measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Others have fled Colombia because of threats on their lives. Suspicious deaths On 6 February 2002, public prosecutor Oswaldo Enrique Borja Martínez was killed, allegedly as a direct result of Osorio's policies. Martínez had been investigating the 2001 massacre in Chengue, Sucre. In the early-morning hours of 17 January, approximately 50 paramilitaries entered the town of Chengue and went house to house, rounding up dozens of men and marching them to the town square. Over the course of an hour and a half, they bludgeoned the men (and a 15-year-old boy) to death with sledgehammers and heavy stones. Before leaving Chengue, the paramilitaries set fire to many of the town's houses. The killings and burnings led more than 1,100 of the town's 1,200 residents to flee. Chengue residents had written to the local military authorities and Colombia's president, Andres Pastrana, in April 2000 and again in October 2000, asking the government for protection because paramilitary groups had threatened them. No one was sent. On the same day as Martínez was killed, Mónica Gaitán, another public prosecutor investigating the massacre, was reportedly forced to resign. Her removal followed the formal initiation, in 2001, of criminal investigations against Rear-admiral Rodrigo Quiñónez Cárdenas for dereliction of duty in failing to prevent the massacre. In March, the Rear-admiral was summoned for questioning by the Attorney General's Office. In the same month, his appointment as military attaché at the Colombian Embassy in Israel was announced. In October, he received a medal while still under criminal investigation. Quiñónez offered his resignation from the armed forces on 26 November following a decision by the US to withdraw his entry visa because of his alleged involvement in drug trafficking. On 12 November, a lower court cleared a navy sergeant of complicity in the massacre and ordered his provisional release from detention. To date, the Attorney General has prosecuted no one in relation to the massacre. In relation to the Colombia Three, Osorio has made numerous prejudicial comments claiming they were guilty. Then, when the men were cleared of charges in April of last year, he refused to allow them to go home, stating they had to stay in the country pending an appeal. Two witnesses forwarded by his office for the trial are currently under investigation, and he has been accused of helping to fabricate evidence and making inflammatory statements against the men.
41 months of hell On 11 August 2001, three Irishmen, Niall Connolly, Jim Monaghan and Martin McCauley, were arrested at El Dorado airport in Bogata, Colombia. They were charged with training left-wing FARC guerrillas in bomb-making techniques and holding false documentation. Within days, the men were being referred to as IRA members by the Colombian authorities and much of the international press, despite the fact the IRA stated early on that it had not sent any of its members to Colombia to engage in military cooperation with any group. The basis for these allegations came from the fact that the men were republicans. Supporters of Connolly, Monaghan and McCauley, including the members of many human rights organisations, began to worry that the men would not get a fair trial. As it happened, their trial did not begin until 4 October 2002, more than a year after their arrests. During this time, the men suffered horrendous conditions in the many jails they were held in. Threats were made to their lives, and at one point, food had to be brought in for fear of poisoning. They were even held for several months in extremely confined conditions, without adequate access to fresh air or light, in El Dijin, the main police holding centre in Bogota, in violation of Colombian law. Their lawyers were constantly harassed and refused entry to their clients because they would not, on principle, agree to remove their belts, ties, jackets, shoes and shoelaces, as demanded by prison officials. The lawyers were, and still are, also under threat of attack from paramilitary groups. The case begins In statements they made during the court case, the three men gave the true account of why they had visited Colombia. They told the judge that they had come to observe the peace process between the Colombian Government and the FARC left-wing guerrilla movement, that were occurring at that time. According to Connolly: "I was motivated by my desire to see first hand another process of conflict resolution in motion." Jim Monaghan said they had spent several weeks in the FARC-controlled zone. "We talked to a great many people. We shared experiences about the peace processes in Ireland and Colombia." From the beginning, however, the men's case was hampered by incredibly prejudicial comments made by senior Colombian military and politicians. Six months after they were arrested, former-President Andrés Pastrana wrote in the Washington Post: "Some months ago, IRA members were captured in Colombia after training FARC guerrillas in urban terrorism." The same month, then-commander of the Colombian Armed Forces, General Fernando Tapias, told the US House Foreign Relations Committee that the three men "are leaders within the IRA structures in their field and they have been in Colombia for a long period and they are involved in training the FARC in terrorist activities". As the trial ended, he called for the maximum sentence of 20 years to be imposed. During the trial, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe told Newsweek magazine: "We have IRA men in jail for training the FARC." Evidence presented at trial consisted of blatant lies, tainted forensics, and false witnesses. The Colombian military claimed that satellite images would prove the allegation that the men were training the FARC, a claim that was later withdrawn. The prosecution's two witnesses, one an alleged FARC deserter, testified to having witnessed the three Irishmen training guerrillas on earlier visits to the rebel safe haven in 1999 and 2000. But all three defendants were able to prove to the court that they were not in Colombia on the dates the witnesses claimed to have seen them. More than eleven defence witnesses travelled to Colombia to help the men. One of those, Dublin Government diplomat Síle Maguire, provided an alibi witness for Niall Connolly, who had been at an Irish Embassy dinner in Havana, Cuba, on the day on which a prosecution witness claimed to have seen him in Colombia. Jim Monaghan had video evidence proving he had not been in the country on the alleged dates. Dr Keith Borer, a renowned independent forensic scientist from Britain, examined all material in regard to the forensic tests carried out at the US Embassy and stated in court that there was no forensic evidence against the men. Colombian forensic tests proved negative after 113 tries to find a positive result. Dr Borer also testified that FARC technology was unchanged during this time and that FARC and IRA technology were and remain very different. While faulty and inaccurate allegations were forwarded by the prosecution, evidence prepared by the defence team was not taken into account. The travesty of justice continued, with Judge Acosta himself receiving death threats from right-wing paramilitaries in an effort to pressure him into imposing a maximum sentence on the men, even though the trial was receiving international attention. Observers from three continents, comprising lawyers, politicians and human rights activists, the media and an official Dublin Government observer, Ambassador Art Agnew, were present. The three men did concede the lesser charge of travelling with documents containing false names, which in Colombia is punishable with a fine and deportation. Vindicated The trial eventually ended on 1 August 2003. But the men were forced to wait a further eight months in La Modelo jail, packed with right-wing militants, until a verdict was reached. On Monday 27 April 2004, Judge Acosta found the men innocent of training the FARC, but guilty of the lesser charges of travelling on false documents. Their time for that charge had already been served and the men were ordered to pay fines of $6,000 each. Judge Acosta also ordered the two prosecution witnesses be investigated for perjury. Both these witnesses had been produced by the office of the Attorney General, Luis Camilo Osorio. In a situation akin to the Supergrass trials of the '80s in the Six Counties, one of the prosecution witnesses is believed to have done the circuit of the country's courtrooms, testifying against hundreds of defendants. It appeared that the men's 33-month Colombian nightmare had ended. However, the Attorney General's office appealed the judgement immediately. The decision had the potential to expose the political role the office had played in the men's case, as well as thousands of others, where the course of justice had been similarly perverted by fabricated evidence. The men were forced to stay in the country until an appeal was heard, and stayed in jail for their own safety for a number of weeks. When they finally left jail, they went into hiding. Neither the Colombian authorities nor the men's families and friends currently know where they are.
Colombia 3 Return to Ireland The three Irishmen who were acquitted of training FARC rebels in Colombia have returned to Ireland and are now, finally, safely back with their families. Martin McCauley, Niall Connolly and Jim Monaghan left Colombia after they were released from jail pending an appeal in their case. In an interview with RTÉ, Jim Monaghan confirmed that the men had returned to Ireland in the past few days. However, he would not say how they got there. He said that they had got a lot of help from a lot of people and that he would not endanger them. Mr Monaghan said that no deal had been done with either the British or Irish governments for their return and that he did not consider himself to be on the run. "I wouldn't be giving this interview if I was on the run, he said. "I'm back and I hope I wil be left in peace." He said he hoped the Irish government would not place any obstacles in the way of them staying in Ireland and that the Government would be very remiss to send anyone back to a country like Colombia. He also said he would not be hiding from the gardaí. Mr Monaghan said that he was not prepared to return to Colombia if the men lost their appeal in their case and that the three men will be seeking legal advice about the possibility of extradition back to the country. He said he didn't believe that their return to Ireland would damage the peace process and added that their return to Ireland was a good thing and should be celebrated. However, he acknowledged that the US would not be happy with their re-appearance in Ireland. Mr Monaghan denied that the three men had gone to Colombia to train FARC rebels. He clearly stated that they visited the country in good faith to learn about the peace process there and that he had no opinion on the FARC, adding that he was not going to get into any condemnation. Mr Monaghan said he saw the end of the IRA military campaign as a positive step.
Adams 'delighted' following return of Colombia 3 Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams MP today said that he was delighted that the Colombia 3 had returned to Ireland. He said the arrival of Jim Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McCauley in Ireland eight months after they left Colombia would not cause a crisis in the Peace Process. Mr Adams said that inertia is being caused by unionists continuing to frustrate attempts to kickstart power-sharing talks in the aftermath of the IRA's recent statement declaring an end to its armed campaign. "This (the return of the Colombia 3) is not causing a crisis in the Peace Process," Mr Adams said. "What is causing a crisis in the political process is the refusal or the failure by the unionists to share power with the rest of us at this time." Mr Adams said he only learned the Colombia 3 were back in Ireland shortly before the news became public on Friday afternoon. "I'm delighted the three of them are back. I'm delighted for themselves as individuals - but I'm especially delighted for their families." Unionist politicians have backed a call by Colombia's Vice President Francisco Santos to extradite the men back to South America. DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson bellowed: "Those who harbour terrorists are terrorists." The 26 county Tanaiste, Mary Harney, urged those who may claim to know where the men are to inform the gardaí. However, Mr Adams insisted that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern should uphold the rights of the three Irishmen as Irish citizens and not extradite them back to Colombia. Mr Adams said: "These men should not be extradited under any circumstances whatsoever. "Most sensible people, if they're reasonable about these matters, would have a view that the Irish government has a responsibility to uphold the rights of citizens, and that includes the rights of these three Irish citizens. "I would like to think that these three men and their families should be allowed to get on with their lives at this point. They've had a very traumatic last number of years. If it goes due process, whatever pressure there is, the Taoiseach of the day should stand up and say: 'we're not sending these men out of Ireland'."
Colombia 3 return home The Colombia 3 returned to Ireland last week to a mixed reception, polarised between the relief of their families and the hostility of unionist politicians in the North and opposition parties in the South. A divided media reflected both positions with the extreme right demanding the immediate extradition of Jim Monaghan, Martin McCauley and Niall Connolly back to Bogota while the other commentators reiterated the appaling human rights record of the Colombian regime and the 26-County Government's obligation to protect its own citizens. The three men were initially detained at Bogota's El Dorada Airport before boarding a flight out of Colombia in August 2001. Accused of training Colombian rebels they endured three years imprisonment in some of Colombia's most notorious jails while awaiting trial. During their incarceration the three men remained in constant fear for their lives, surviving at least one serious attack. In many ways the three Irishmen became the victims of changing international circumstances as the world came to terms with the 11 September attacks in the United States. Despite the fact that there was never any real case to answer the three men inadvertently became caught up in post-9/11 hysteria and the subsequent hunt for international terrorists. At trial the prosecution's case collapsed after forensic evidence was exposed as totally unreliable and so-called witness evidence was completely discredited. All three were found not guilty and acquitted of all of the most serious charges against them in April 2004. In any country where accepted international standards of justice apply the story of the Colombia 3 would have ended there and then with the immediate return of the men to Ireland. But Colombia is not such a country. Condemned by organisations as diverse as Amnesty International and the United Nations, the current Colombian regime is notorious for its appaling record of human rights abuses and atrocities carried out against its own population. Initially the three men refused to leave Bogota jail without re-assurances regarding their safety. The Colombian Government rejected a request by the Attorney General that the men should be allowed to return to Ireland and in June 2004 the three left Bogota to travel to an undisclosed location. Despite the discredited prosecution case and the absence of any further evidence the three men were subsequently convicted in their absence on appeal in December 2004 and given sentences of up to 17 years in jail. Since then nothing had been heard of the three men until reports of their return to Ireland began to filter through the Irish, British and international media last weekend. In an exclusive interview with RTÉ's Charlie Bird, Jim Monaghan dismissed media speculation that there had been some kind of deal brokered to secure the three men's return to Ireland. "No, not that I am aware, there hasn't been any deal of any sort. We returned as soon as we were able", said Monaghan. "I am back in Ireland only a few days and, as you can imagine, a lot of people in a lot of countries had to help us, and I can't endanger those people by giving any details about who they were or even where they were." Responding to a question Jim Monaghan said he did not consider himself or the other men to be 'on the run'. "No, I wouldn't be giving this interview if I was on the run. I'm back and I would hope that I would be left in peace," he said. Commenting on the actions of the Dublin Government, Jim Monaghan said they had been "quite good during the time we were away. The Taoiseach asked that we would be sent back while we were waiting on the appeal, so I hope that [the government] would continue in this vein." Speaking to the media Niall Connolly's brother Dan said his mother and the whole family were "absolutely delighted" by the men's return. "We would like to thank Caitríona Ruane and Peter Madden, as well as the lawyers in Colombia, the observers and politicians and all the supporters who took an interest in the case," said Connolly. Bring Them Home campaigner and Sinn Féin Assembly member Caitríona Ruane said that supporters of the Colombia 3 did not expect the Dublin Government to return the men to Colombia despite political pressure to do so. "The Irish government is very aware of the dangers the men would have to face if they were returned to Colombia." "Between them they have eight children, some of whom they haven't seen for four years. They have suffered terribly. The trial lasted seven-and-a-half months. It was open and transparent. The world media was present and international observers. When presiding Judge Acosta found them innocent, he also ruled that the only two prosecution witnesses should be investigated for perjury." As the Sunday Tribune pointed out the "case against extradition is compelling". Commenting, the editorial said there were good reasons why Ireland doesn't have an extradition treaty with Colombia and went on to describe Colombia as a "human rights disaster" and its judges, jails and justice system as "unreliable, to say the least". "For an Irish Government to consider sending Irish citizens to such a patently unjust place, where individuals perceived to be in opposition to the regime are regularly killed and tortured, would be a step too far for many Irish people" said the Tribune. Predictably, unionist reaction has been far from sympathetic. Senior Ulster Unionist Michael McGimpsey accused the Irish Government of doing a deal with republicans. "The Irish Government is unlikely to send them back, as this move is likely to be part of the latest concession choreography to republicans. Once again despicable political expediency is replacing common sense and due process", said McGimpsey. DUP Deputy Leader Peter Robinson described the idea of the three men being allowed to "live freely in the Republic" as a "terrible affront". "We are looking for their immediate arrest and for the Republic to hand them over to the Colombian authorities. Calling for the men's "swift extradition", Robinson said any other course of action by the Irish Government would render Bertie Ahern a "terrorist collaborator". However, legal observers have pointed out the difficulties of such an extradition request. For a start the Dublin Government doesn't have an extradition treaty with Colombia. Extradition could only take place on the back of such a treaty between Ireland and Colombia and such treaties are not retrospective. The propriety of such a treaty with a regime that continues to attract serious criticism from the United Nations for persistent and systematic human rights abuses would in itself be questionable. Although extradition treaties are a matter for the executive, the Irish government could not enter into such an agreement without the approval of the Dáil. Furthermore there exists a general prohibition against extradition for political offences such as those for which the men stand accused. Add to this a procedure that allows those threatened with extradition to prevent the order being acted upon if, for example, it could be shown that their lives would be endangered. And as the Irish Times pointed out "a brief perusal of material available through Amnesty International and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights would suggest that such concerns have a firm basis in reality." Suggestions by the Colombian Government that there is an Interpol warrant regarding the men is believed to be misleading. Interpol carries only a list of people wanted by various governments throughout the world. Niall Connolly's brother Dan said that his family did not believe there are grounds for extradition. "And if one were brought we believe it would be defeated in the courts. We don't believe either that Irish people would want their citizens being sent back to Colombia, particularly where there is an understanding of the human rights situation in that country". But there are those for whom human rights and the rights of Irish citizens to be protected by their government stand as a poor second to the opportunity to damage the Peace Process. Sadly this is not confined to reactionary elements within the North. Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny demanded an immediate statement from the Taoiseach to clarify "whether this issue was part of the negotiations between the government and Sinn Féin. Meanwhile Conor Cruise O'Brien called on the Irish Government to "move immediately to have them extradited". It was the "gravest test" of Ahern's political career," said the Cruiser. Of course such exaggerated nonsense merely reflects the deep-seated antipathy towards republicans and the entire Peace Process by an unrepresentative reactionary element and cynical political opportunists in the 26 Counties.
Colombia Three – A Damning Case In a flawed but open court, attended by international monitors, where evidence was heard and witnesses cross-examined, the Colombia Three were acquitted of all of the charges of training the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) by Judge Jairo Acosta in August 2004. Before they were released, however, Colombia’s attorney-general, Luis Camilo Osorio, launched an appeal against their acquittal. The men, Jim Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McAuley, had been arrested in August 2001 by the military at Bogotá’s El Dorado Airport using genuine passports, but which had not been legitimately applied for in their own names. They had just come from the ‘demilitarised zone’ in southern Colombia which the government had conceded to FARC during peace negotiations. FARC policy – before the breakdown in negotiations in February 2002, six months after the men were in custody – was to openly invite foreigners into this area. Visitors included government envoys, ambassadors and journalists. Others included the late Mo Mowlam, a Papal envoy, the Queen of Jordan, the deputy head of the New York Stock Exchange and the three Irish men. The Colombian military initially informed the U.S. embassy of the arrests and it sent an untrained embassy official, Anthony Hall, to conduct unauthorised forensic tests on the three men’s personal effects. Because of his claim that they showed traces of drugs and explosives the men were imprisoned. However, a second set of forensic tests carried out by Colombian forensic experts with judicial authorisation proved negative and found absolutely no trace of drugs or explosives. The men were initially charged with passport offences. Four weeks after their detention al Qaeda attacked the US on September 11th and the Colombian authorities then began claiming a major connection between FARC and the IRA and appealed to the US for more military aid in the “international fight against terrorism” as it prepared to renew hostilities against FARC. The three men were held in El Modelo prison under extreme conditions and their lives were continually at risk. Two months previously, in clashes between left-wing revolutionaries and right-wing paramilitaries, ten prisoners lost their lives. Two years earlier 212 inmates were killed – 131 were shot dead by guards and others were stabbed or lynched by their opponents with some of their bodies being dumped in the sewers. Before and during the trial of the three Irish men two Colombian Presidents, the Attorney-General and military spokespersons set out to ensure the men faced a fait accompli by continually referring to their guilt, and prejudicing their chances of an acquittal, in speeches, newspaper interviews and at US Congressional hearings. The trial itself proved something of a farce with prosecution witnesses initially refusing to testify. Their testimony, when it was given, was rubbished. An alleged FARC deserter claimed to have seen the men training guerrillas on dates in 1999 and 2000. Lawyers for the defendants produced evidence that the men were elsewhere. For example, Jim Monaghan had been filmed speaking at a conference in Belfast. Niall Connolly was proven to have been translating at an Irish Embassy dinner in Havana, Cuba. The US embassy official, Anthony Hall, was not called to give evidence. In relation to the allegation that the IRA had passed on its technology to FARC the court heard from one of the foremost forensic scientists in Britain, Dr Keith Borer, who in the past has acted in prosecution cases against Irish republicans in British trials. In Bogota Borer testified, “that the weaponry used by the IRA and FARC are vastly different, having to do with the diameter of the mortars, the different types of propellants used and different types of detonating devices.” He concluded that FARC weaponry was of a much more sophisticated nature than the IRA’s. The men pleaded guilty to a passports offence and in statements to the court explained that because of harassment Irish republicans (two of them, Jim Monaghan and Martin McAuley are former prisoners) often travelled under false documentation. They had gone to Colombia to study the peace process, they said. In the last thirty years thousands of people have falsely applied for Irish and British passports for a variety of reasons. Many young Irish people did so in order that they could enter and work in the USA. Republican escapees have used false passports to enter and settle in other countries. Having been denied a visa to the USA I was once arrested trying to cross the border from Canada using Polish ID simply to speak at an Irish NORAID function. So, there is nothing necessarily subversive about travelling under a false passport. In August 2004 the Colombia Three were acquitted of the most serious charges and found guilty of using false passports. Having served time on remand the men were released but the Colombian government lodged an appeal. The appeal was heard in private before three judges. The lawyers of the men were not allowed any representation – only the Attorney-General’s office. At the end of this secret hearing the men were found guilty of training FARC and sentenced to 17 years imprisonment. One of the three, Judge Jorge Enrique Torres, later said, “I was overwhelmed by the countless amount of technical evidence used in this case that was questionable.” None of the evidence gave a ‘certainty’ that they had been training FARC, he said. By then the Colombia Three had escaped and a few weeks ago emerged safe and sound in Ireland. Unionists, Fine Gael, the Progressive Democrats and reactionary sections of the media were united in their anger, outrage and in their demands. The brutality of the Colombian government, its collaboration with right-wing death squads, the murders of journalists and trade unionists, the corruption of its judicial process, have all been set aside. As far as they are concerned the Colombia Three either should voluntarily go back to Colombia, should be forced to go back by Sinn Fein, should be arrested and extradited back to Colombia (even though – and for good moral and legal reasons – there is no extradition treaty) or should be forced to serve 17 years in Ireland. The reactions are telling about the values of those parties and their spokespersons. Colombia features regularly in damning reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch in relation to human rights abuses. One pro-government death squad killed 200 people and displaced 10,000. It invaded El Salado village and over two days tortured, garrotted, stabbed, decapitated, and shot residents. Witnesses told investigators that they tied one six-year-old girl to a pole and suffocated her with a plastic bag. One woman was reportedly gang-raped. While these atrocities were being carried out, the Colombian navy’s First Brigade maintained roadblocks around El Salado that prevented the International Committee of the Red Cross and others from entering. Michael McDowell, the Republic’s Minister for Justice, is seeking ways to return the Colombia Three into the arms of Colombia’s Attorney General, Luis Camilo Osorio. The first thing Osorio did upon taking office was to fire the prosecutors who had indicted General Rito Alejo del Rio on charges of collusion with paramilitary death squads. He absolved del Rio of all crimes. Osorio announced, “No longer will human rights organisations dictate who we investigate.” In prison the Colombia Three were threatened with death and there was a strong possibility that they would have been murdered, as were other inmates. Those who call for them to be forcibly returned to jail are well aware of that. They are full of hate and blind to reason when it comes to discussing justice for Irish republicans. They would have sent Paul Hill back to jail or the Birmingham Six had they escaped and sought refuge in Ireland. But they are powerless in this case, thank God. So they better get used to seeing Jim Monaghan, Martin McAuley and Niall Connolly dandering around the streets of Dublin!
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