COLOMBIA: TRIAL OF THREE SUSPECTED IRA MEMBERS CHARGED WITH TRAINING FARC REBELS OPENS WITH PROSECUTIONS FIRST WITNESS FAILING TO ADVANCE CHARGES

Record ID: 645672

  • Title: COLOMBIA: TRIAL OF THREE SUSPECTED IRA MEMBERS CHARGED WITH TRAINING FARC REBELS OPENS WITH PROSECUTIONS FIRST WITNESS FAILING TO ADVANCE CHARGES
  • Date: 2nd December 2002
  • Summary: (W8) BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (DECEMBER 02, 2002) (REUTERS) MV/SCU: EXTERIORS OF COURT HOUSE (2 SHOTS) MV: ARRIVAL OF WITNESS, MAJOR CARLOS EDUARDO MATIZ, TO COURT SV: WITNESS BEING SWORN IN SV: INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS IN COURT VARIOUS OF JUDGE ACOSTA IN COURT (2 SHOTS) SV: SECURITY IN COURTROOM SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) SPOKESPERSON FOR IRA SUSPECTS' ATTORNEYS, EDUARDO MATIAS, SAYING "The defence is grateful for the arrival of Major Carlos Eduardo Matiz to the courtroom, we think that his testimony favours the interests of the defence, it has shown that the military intelligence did not know about any training of the FARC by these Irish citizens." SV: PEOPLE IN COURTROOM SCU: INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS TALKING SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER, PAT DALY, SAYING "The primary impression that I took from what had happened today was that the defence witnesses were already in Bogota to give evidence where as when we came to court today there were no prosecution witnesses whatsoever ready to give their evidence in court and a recess had to be ordered by the judge so that the first witness can come to court and then the other witness that they are talking about, they don't know where he is." SV: INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS GETTING INTO ELEVATOR
  • Embargoed: 17th December 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA
  • Country: Colombia
  • Topics: Crime,General,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA3WULUOB40D0OHOKMP0HS3U0E4
  • Story Text: Colombia has kicked off the trial of three suspected members of the Irish Republican Army, with the prosecution's first witness failing to advance charges the trio trained Marxist rebels to build bombs.
    The trio could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of training Latin America's largest rebel army, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or "FARC", during a trip to a former guerrilla stronghold last year.
    Niall Connolly, Jim Monaghan and Martin McCauley did not make an appearance on Monday (December 02) at the Bogota courthouse. Their lawyers and a group of Irish parliamentarians entered the court for a day set to centre around declarations by witnesses.
    The first of four expected prosecution witnesses, an army intelligence officer, did little for the government case on Monday. Major Carlos Eduardo Matiz said he had no knowledge of whether the three Irishmen even met, let alone trained, the FARC. The only time he had seen them was on television.
    "The defence is grateful for the arrival of Major Carlos Eduardo Matiz to the courtroom, we think that his testimony favours the interests of the defence, it has shown that the military intelligence did not know about any training of the FARC by these Irish citizens," said a spokesperson for the defence attorneys, Eduardo Matias.
    Officials said the trial, presided over by Judge Jairo Acosta, could last months and court proceedings will probably be interrupted for several weeks around Christmas.
    The men's arrest in August last year as they tried to fly out of Bogota airport with false passports put strains on the Northern Irish peace process and angered the United States, which regards the FARC as drug smuggling "terrorists".
    The three men admitted that they had spent time in a dangerous part of Colombia controlled by the FARC but said they were observing wildlife and the progress of peace talks between the rebels and the government, which have since collapsed.
    Their lawyers say that the men, who are being held in Bogota's violent Modelo prison, are unlikely to get a fair hearing in Colombia, where the U.S.-backed army is waging a 38-year-old war against the FARC.
    They say that much of the state's evidence, based on traces of explosives supposedly found on the men's clothing and the testimony of rebel defectors, is flimsy.
    "The primary impression that I took from what had happened today was that the defence witnesses were already in Bogota to give evidence where as when we came to court today there were no prosecution witnesses whatsoever ready to give their evidence in court," said Irish human rights attorney, Pat Daly.
    The army has blamed the IRA for new advances shown in recent FARC attacks in Colombia's cities, including a mortar bombardment during President Alvaro Uribe's swearing-in ceremony in August, which killed more than 20 people, including many homeless beggars.
    A lobby group has been set up in Ireland to campaign for the release of the three men.
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