It is believed three Irishmen charged with training FARC guerillas in Colombia will not turn up to a court hearing in Bogota later today.
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Mr Niall Connolly, Mr James Monaghan and Mr Martin McCauley
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Mr Martin McCauley, Mr James Monaghan and Mr Niall Connolly, who were arrested on August 11th, 2001 at Bogota airport, are accused of visiting a FARC haven in the south of Colombia to train rebels in using explosives, car bombs and making weapons that the IRA had experience in. They were travelling on false passports. The men refused to attend a court hearing in Bogota two weeks ago because they were afraid for their safety. According to
RTE News
, the three will again refuse to attend today, because they fear they will not receive a fair trial.
Their lawyers claim the case has been politicised saying the man had been made "scapegoats" by the Colombian government as its seeks favour with the United States by putting on a show of support for the US war on terrorism.
The men can be tried in their absence.
They have been charged with assisting illegal activities and using false documents, including passports, to collaborate with the FARC. If found guilty, they could be sentenced to 20 years in prison. The three men have strongly denied the charges.
Colombian officials said in August they had firm evidence that the IRA has helped train and equip FARC.