Doubts cast on evidence of key 'Colombia Three' witness

Doubts have been cast on the evidence of a key witness at the trial of the so-called "Colombia Three" following the broadcast of a video featuring one of the three men on RTE this evening.

The video footage appears to show one of the three men currently on trial in Bogota, Mr James Monaghan, speaking at a meeting in Ireland at a time when he was alleged to have been at a FARC training camp in Colombia.

This comes after a prosecution witness claimed emphatically that he saw the three Irishmen training FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerillas between February 5th and February 25th 2001.

Three Irish nationals, Mr Monaghan (56), Mr Martin McCauley (40) and Mr Niall Connolly (36) have been charged with training the Marxist rebels of FARC in bomb-making techniques, and with using false passports.

If convicted on the bomb-making charge, they could face 15 to 20 years in jail.

The men were arrested at Bogota's El Dorado airport on August 11th, 2001 and are currently detained at a high-security prison in Combita, 90 miles from the Colombian capital.

They have so far declined to attend the trial, claiming the proceedings were unfair.

Ms Caitriona Ruane of the Bring Them Home Campaign said this evening that since the case began, "it has been mired in controversy, first witnesses did not appear, then the court tried to force the defence to go first.

Now, Ms Ruane said there was proof that Mr Monaghan was in Ireland at a time the key witness, Mr Edwin Giovanny Rodriguez, claimed he was training FARC members in Colombia.

"Jim Monaghan and Martin McCauley were in Ireland and we have irrefutable evidence to prove this. Niall Connolly was not in Colombia on those dates and we will also prove that," she said.

RTE news broadcast a dated video and interviewed a key defence witness who was with Jim Monaghan on February 22nd 2001.

Ms Catherine Murphy, vice chairperson of Coiste na hIarchimí was training a group of ex-prisoners in public speaking and the topic was peace and reconciliation. Jim Monaghan was on the tape along with Catherine Murphy.

A copy of the tape has been given to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen,

Ms Ruane once more called on the Government to intervene in the case. "There is a miscarriage of justice ocurring, the Colombian State is going to great lengths to fabricate a case against these three Irish citizens, we are calling on the Irish Government to call for their release and get them sent home to their families," she said