Colombia's government has denied a request for bodyguards and a safehouse for three Irishmen, who fear attack outside prison walls after being cleared of bomb charges last week.
Mr Jim Monaghan, Mr Niall Connolly and Mr Martin McCauley, who were acquitted of charges they taught Marxist rebels to build bombs but convicted of carrying false passports, can leave their Bogota prison once they post bail.
However, the bail payment of €17,000 - which has been provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs - has not been lodged over fears for their safety outside La Modelo prison.
They warn of possible attack by right-wing death squads, which target alleged guerrilla sympathizers in Colombia.
"They (government officials) have rejected the security request," said Ms Caitriona Ruane, a Sinn Féin MLA who heads the "Bring Them Home" campaign. She said the government recommended two Bogota hotels.
The Colombian attorney general's office says the men must stay in the country until the court rules on the state's planned appeal of the acquittal on bomb charges.