COLOMBIA: THREE IRISHMEN ACCUSED OF BEING MEMBERS OF THE IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY APPEAR IN COURT
Record ID:
588597
COLOMBIA: THREE IRISHMEN ACCUSED OF BEING MEMBERS OF THE IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY APPEAR IN COURT
- Title: COLOMBIA: THREE IRISHMEN ACCUSED OF BEING MEMBERS OF THE IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY APPEAR IN COURT
- Date: 1st August 2003
- Summary: (U6) BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (JULY 30, 2003) (REUTERS) 1. SLV EXTERIOR COURT BUILDING; MV ARMED POLICE GUARDING PRISONER AS HE WALKS INTO BUILDING (3 SHOTS) 0.14 2. MV JAMES MONAGHAN GETTING OFF PICKUP TRUCK AND INTO BUILDING (3 SHOTS) 0.23 3. SLV CITIZENS PROTESTING OUTSIDE FOR MEN'S FREEDOM (3 SHOTS) 0.37 4. SLV INTERIOR COURTROOM; MV JUDGE ACOSTA INSIDE COURTROOM (2 SHOTS) 0.50 5. MV MONAGHAN WITH PAPERS AS HE PREPARES TO GIVE STATEMENT; MV MONAGHAN APPROACHING MEDIA STAND; MV AUDIENCE (5 SHOTS) 1.15 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAMES MONAGHAN SAYING "Since we were arrested at El Dorado Airport, there has been a constant flow of misinformation and false allegations against us. The embassies of the United States and Britain have both intervened to distort the truth. We were then driven to a military barrack, North American of ficials were present. After this we were brought to the prosecutor's office. Everything was happening very fast, there were a lot soldiers about. We denied meeting the FARC initially because we thought it would make matters worse for us." 1.39 7. SLV JOURNALISTS AND GENERAL AUDIENCE; MV MARTIN McCAULEY PREPARES TO GIVE STATEMENT; SCU CAMERA OPERATOR (3 SHOTS) 1.55 8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARTIN McCAULEY SAYING "Our arrest in Colombia has been used by these and other elements to further undermine the peace process. Elements in the Colombian military and the political establishment have said lies and misinformation to the media to serve their own interests. The embassy of the United States cannot escape criticism for its role in this affair. Their so-called forensic evidence against us is fraudulent and misleading." 2.29 9. MV POLICE OFFICERS IN AUDIENCE AT COURTROOM; SCU CAMERA OPERATORS 2.38 10. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) NIALL CONNOLLY SAYING: "We have been placed in jails in Colombia under the recommendation of the Fiscal while our lives have been in danger, and in the opinion of one judge, who ordered our transfer, we have been subject to degrading and inhumane treatment. Obstacles have been placed in our way and that of our lawyers when we were trying to prepare our defence." 3.10 11. SCU JUDGE ACOSTA LISTENING TO STATEMENT 3.14 12. MV MONAGHAN AND McCAULEY PASSING BY/ CONNOLLY KISSING HIS WIFE; MV CONNOLLY LEAVING COURT; MV MONAGHAN LEAVING COURT 3.23 13. MV POLICE PREPARING THEIR DEPARTURE; SLV IRISHMEN COMING OUT OF BUILDING (3 SHOTS) 3.48 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 16th August 2003 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA
- Country: Colombia
- Reuters ID: LVA447JH0GWNH6YN82A0AF3S26UL
- Story Text: Three Irishmen accused of being members of the IRA
appear in Colombian court.
Three men allegedly linked to the Irish Republican
Army and accused of training Colombian rebels appeared in
court in Bogota on Wednesday (July 30, 2003), voicing the
unfairness of the ongoing trial.
Protected by at least 30 prison guards, the three men
arrived in a pickup truck and were driven directly into the
courthouse's basement.
James Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McCauley
previously refused to attend the hearings, saying that it
was impossible for them to get a fair trial in Colombia
because of the highly political nature of the charges.
The men finally decided to appear before the court,
after nine months of trial.
"Since we were arrested at El Dorado Airport, there has
been a constant flow of misinformation and false
allegations against us," said James Monaghan at the
courtroom. "The embassies of the United States and Britain
have both intervened to distort the truth."
Monaghan added that they first denied a meeting with
the rebels because they thought it would worsen their
chances afterwards.
"Our arrest in Colombia has been used by these and
other elements to further undermine the peace process,"
said Martin McCauley, as he accused local and American
authorities of using this trial to pursue their own
interests. "The embassy of the United States cannot escape
criticism for its role in this affair. Their so-called
forensic evidence against us is fraudulent and misleading."
'The Colombian Three', as they're known now in Europe,
were arrested in August 2001 as they tried to leave
Colombia using false passports. They deny being members of
the Irish Republican Army or instructing the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia -- known as FARC, the nation's
most notorious rebel group.
In final arguments, defence lawyers were expected to
try to convince Judge Jairo Acosta that the men were in a
rebel stronghold only to observe a now-defunct peace
process between the insurgent rebel group and the Colombian
government.
"Obstacles have been placed in our way and that of our
lawyers when we were trying to prepare our defence," said
Niall Connolly.
The defence says there is no hard evidence and has
produced a video that allegedly shows Monaghan in Belfast
at a time when a prosecution witness recounted seeing him
instructing Colombian rebels.
On Monday (July 28), prosecutors asked for the maximum
sentence of 20 years for the men, recalling the testimony
of former rebels who said they saw the suspects training
insurgents.
Acosta is legally obliged to deliver a verdict within
15 days of hearing closing arguments, but admits that, due
to the complexity of the case, it might take him longer.
Monaghan is an IRA veteran who was convicted in 1971
for possessing explosives and conspiring to cause
explosions.
Connolly lived in Cuba for several years, where he
served as the Latin American representative for Sinn Fein,
the IRA's political wing.
McCauley was wounded during a police ambush at an IRA
arms dump in 1982 and was later convicted of weapons
possession.
The trial, conducted by a judge without a jury, has
shaken Northern Ireland's fragile peace process.
Investigators here have blamed IRA know-how for
increasingly sophisticated attacks including a car bomb
last February that killed 36 people and a mortar attack
aimed at President Alvaro Uribe's swearing-in ceremony in
2002.
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