Former hostage Mr Brian Keenan today called for three Irish suspects to be released from a Colombian jail and returned home.
The Belfast man, who spent five years as a captive in the Lebanon, said the men, Mr Niall Connolly, Mr James Monaghan and Mr Martin McCauley, had not been charged with any offences by the Colombian authorities.
"This is an issue of human rights and freedom and who knows more about that than me," he said.
"They say the first casualty of war is truth but in this first war of the 21st century I think the casualties of war are not only truth but justice, human rights and civil liberties."
The three men are waiting to stand trial in the Colombian capital Bogota after being arrested in August.
The authorities suspect them of training terrorists in bomb making techniques as they had spent several weeks in an area controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Earlier this week Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams confirmed Mr Connolly had acted as his party's representative in Cuba - a claim that had been earlier vehemently denied by the party.
A campaign has been launched to persuade the Colombian government to free the three suspects.
Full page advertisements were placed in newspapers at the weekend signed by a list of luminaries including Mr Keenan, folk singer Christy Moore and Green Party MEP Patricia McKenna.
It is believed the trio could languish in prison for two years while lawyers compile a case against them. If convicted they could face up to 20 years in prison.
PA