COLOMBIA: TRIAL RESUMES OF THREE ALLEGED IRA MEMBERS ACCUSED OF TRAINING COLOMBIAN GUERRILLAS.

Record ID: 646010

  • Title: COLOMBIA: TRIAL RESUMES OF THREE ALLEGED IRA MEMBERS ACCUSED OF TRAINING COLOMBIAN GUERRILLAS.
  • Date: 29th July 2003
  • Summary: (U7) BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (JULY 28, 2003) (REUTERS) GV: TRIAL GV/CU: IRISH WITNESSES FOR THE DEFENCE (2 SHOTS) MV/CU: JUDGE'S SECRETARY WRITING; JUDGE (3 SHOTS) MCU: (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CARLOS HUMBERTO SANCHEZ, PROSECUTOR, SAYING: "The nation's prosecutor ratifies the accusation and solicits a sentence for the crimes committed: falsification of public documents and training for illicit activities. " MV/GV: DEFENCE ATTORNEYS; POLICE OBSERVING; DEFENCE ATTORNEY WRITING; TRIAL (5 SHOTS) MCU: (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) JOSE LUIS VELASCO, DEFENCE ATTORNEY, SAYING: "There is an absolute lack of evidence regarding these three citizens. For this reason, I reiterate the defence in a transparent fashion. I do so openly, publicly, today, once again, I reiterate, in our moment we will speak to this, there is no evidence. There is no proof with which to sentence these men, to the contrary, the decision that we ask for is absolution." MV: VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS WRITING MCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) CAITRIONA RUANE, SPOKESPERSON FOR THE PRISONERS, SAYING: "The prosecutor should have called and said that he would not be charging or calling for a conviction for training - he has no evidence for it."
  • Embargoed: 13th August 2003 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA
  • Country: Colombia
  • Topics: General,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA8YKB8YAYNHU8PR7HYNIGZ91SY
  • Story Text: The trial of three men accused of being Irish Republican Army guerrillas and training Colombian rebels has resumed as both sides have begun to make their final arguments.
    A Colombian prosecutor on Monday (July 28) ridiculed the defence of three men accused of being Irish Republican Army guerrillas who have said they visited a rebel stronghold as tourists, not bomb-making instructors.
    The trial without jury resumed on Monday -- after a mid-June adjournment -- for the judge to hear final summaries.
    Colombian authorities are demanding maximum sentences of up to 20 years in prison for the three Irishmen whom they accuse of teaching the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -- known as FARC -- advanced bomb-making techniques.
    "The nation's prosecutor ratifies the accusation and solicits a sentence for the crimes committed: falsification of public documents and training for illicit activities, "
    state prosecutor Carlos Sanchez told the court.
    However, the three suspects claim they spent weeks in an impoverished region of southern Colombia controlled by the FARC during now defunct peace talks enjoying the sights, researching journalistic stories and studying the negotiations between the government and the rebels.
    "There is an absolute lack of evidence regarding these three citizens." said Jose Luis Velasco, the defence attorney.
    "For this reason, I reiterate the defence in a transparent fashion. I do so openly, publicly, today, once again, I reiterate, in our moment we will speak to this, there is no evidence. There is no proof with which to sentence these men, to the contrary, the decision that we ask for is absolution."
    Jim Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McCauley, who were arrested in August 2001 as they tried to leave Colombia using false passports, deny being IRA members.
    "The prosecutor should have called and said that he would not be charging or calling for a conviction for training."
    said the prisoners' spokesperson Caitriona Ruane,
    "He has no evidence for it."
    Closing presentations were scheduled for all of this week and the defence was expected to make its arguments on Tuesday (July 29).
    Judge Jairo Acosta is legally obliged to deliver a verdict within 15 days of hearing closing arguments, but admitted that the complexity of the case, which has already dragged on for more than six months, means he is likely to need more time.
    Acosta has dismissed defence claims that he is under government pressure to find the men guilty and jail them for as long as possible.
    Colombian investigators have blamed IRA know-how for increasingly sophisticated FARC 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.
    Dozens of witnesses have testified over the past six months, including rebel defectors, explosives experts and Irish Republicans who served time in Northern Irish jails.
    The prisoners, held in a top security prison near Bogota, have refused to appear in court, saying the case is politically motivated.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register