Colombia 3 Trial Report

national | miscellaneous | news report Monday February 03, 2003 11:46 by Justin Moran - Sinn Fein maigh_nuad at yahoo dot com

Report from the observers who attended the trial of Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan in December 2002.

The full report runs to 43 pages and includes the personal reports of everyone in the delegation, reports of meetings and a variety of other material. I will happily email it to anyone who contacts me at the above address. Below please find the introduction and overview.

Introduction
On August 11, 2001 Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan were arrested at Bogota airport, Colombia. Having visited an area ceded to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) by the then Colombian President Andreas Pastrana, as part of the now stalled Colombian peace process, the men were initially detained on suspicion of carrying false documentation. Held without charge for six months in constant fear of their lives, the men were charged in February 2002 with the use of false documentation and training the FARC in rebellion. On conviction they face a possible twenty year sentence. Their trial began in October 2002.
In a statement read out to the court in Bogota on October16, 2002, the men stated that their presence in Colombia was in support of peace. ‘We visited Colombia to get to know the people, the natural beauty and the Peace Process. They re-iterated their support for the peace process in Ireland and their desire to see the Colombian peace process resurrected. They have stated further; “We want to hear and see the evidence against us and we want to exercise the right to challenge the reliability of the evidence through our lawyers.”
In a press conference on October 4, 2002, the men’s lawyers stated that they did not believe the men could obtain a fair trial in Colombia given the political nature of the case.
The Bring Them Home campaign believes that the presence of international observers at the trial is essential. It also believes that the men cannot obtain a fair trial and are in danger every day they remain in Colombia.
On November 28, 2002 a delegation of Irish parliamentarians, human rights activists and international legal observers went to Colombia where they visited the men in La Modelo jail and attended the first stage of the trial. The delegation also met with a number of political and legal figures while in Bogota.
The trial of the three Irishmen resumes before a single judge and in the absence of a jury in Bogota on February 5, 2003.
Despite a ruling in December 2002 by the trial judge that the prosecution witnesses attend the February hearing he has given permission for one witness to be interviewed in Medellin, a city in the north of Colombia.
Despite objections of defence lawyers the Colombian authorities have claimed that they cannot afford the airfare to transfer the witness to Bogota. The airfare from Medellin to Bogota costs $200.
Since the visit of the observers, recounted in this document, the three men have been moved to Combita jail some three hours drive from the capital.
This move took place despite assurances given to the team of observers and the Irish government by senior Colombian government officials that the men would not be transferred outside of Bogota during the trial.
The transfer also poses added difficulties for visits from the men's lawyers and their families.
The trial is expected to continue for several months and political and legal observers from Ireland, the US, Australia and England will attend further hearings.
Further reports will be published as the trial progresses and a final report will be issued when the legal process is completed.
This report provides an outline of the trip and the delegates' interim findings.
Conclusions
· The men cannot obtain a fair trial.
· The men have not obtained a fair legal process to date.
· The men have been transferred from jail to jail on several occasions which has prejudiced the preparations for their trial.
· Threats have been made against their defence lawyers which has made it more difficult to prepare for trial hearings.
· The men have been held in dangerous and unsuitable conditions, and in breach of internationally accepted human rights conventions, since their arrest in August 2001.
· Pre-trial publicity in Colombia and internationally has undermined the principle of presumption of innocence.
· Statements by the former and current presidents of Colombia and senior Colombian and US officials and elected representatives have further damaged the men's ability to obtain a fair trial.
· The observers believe that the Irish government as a matter of priority should send an official legal observer to attend the trial at all stages.
· The men should be held in Bogota in a safe location for the duration of their trial.