The Colombia Three:
Bring Them Home Campaign
The juryless trial, before a single Colombian judge, of three Irish nationals, Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan began on October 4, 2002 and concluded on August 1, 2003 after seven adjournments. Judge Acosta has reserved judgement and his verdict is expected soon, possibly in October. Brian Parker, Assistant Secretary of the CFMEU(Construction & General Division) NSW Branch; Brett Gaye, Senior Delegate, CFMEU (Construction & General) NSW Branch; Ian Latham, Barrister; Shaun Kerrigan, Barrister; and Paul Lynch MP, Member for Liverpool have all travelled to Colombia as international observers of the trial. All are from Sydney. The focus of the Bring Them Home Campaign is the Colombian Government. The Colombian Government needs to know that the world is watching how fairly and independently their judicial system operates. We are asking that Judge Acosta be permitted to make his judgement based on the evidence, free from political or military pressure from Colombia or any outside influences. The evidence is clearly on the side of Connolly, McCauley and Monaghan. Based on the evidence it provided at trial, the prosecution has no case with regards to the principle charge of training FARC military. The following points should be noted: a.. the men were arrested in August 2001 at El Dorado Airport, Bogota. The most serious charge is that they were members of the IRA training members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC. b.. the three had travelled to Colombia to observe the ongoing peace process and to share their experiences of the Irish peace process. Peace advocates from around the world, including political leaders and human rights activists have travelled to Colombia for the same purpose. c.. the prosecution's case is filled with inconsistencies and allegations refuted by clear video evidence, testimony from credible defence witnesses, including the First Secretary of the Irish Embassy in Mexico, and authenticated affidavits placing the three elsewhere when they were supposedly training the FARC. d.. the forensics do not support the case. Dr Keith Borer, an experienced forensic scientist who has previously given evidence in the prosecutions of IRA members, examined all the materials and stated in court that there is no forensic evidence against the men. e.. Dr Borer also testified that the FARC are well in advance technically of the IRA. There would be no point in the IRA trying to train the FARC. WHAT CAN YOU DO? Contact the Colombian consulate in Sydney either by writing to Consul-General of Colombia Level 12, 100 Walker Street NORTH SYDNEY 2060 or via email at csydney@netpro.net.au. And the Colombian Embassy in Canberra at Embassy of Colombia Colombia House Building Level 2, 101 Northbourne Avenue TURNER ACT 2612 Thank you for your help.