Seeking Justice in Colombia
By Niall O’Dowd

IT would seem an open and shut case. The three Irishmen accused of aiding FARC guerillas in Colombia have cast iron alibis and the prosecution witnesses have been thoroughly discredited.

But this is Colombia, and Niall Connolly, Jim Monaghan and Martin McCauley face an uncertain future as they await the judge’s ruling in their trial. The men were arrested in August in 2001 at Bogota Airport and accused of training the leftist Marxist guerillas in terrorism tactics.

This week two dedicated defenders of the men have been blowing major holes in the government’s arguments while on a trip to the U.S. Caitriona Ruane from West Belfast, a fluent Spanish speaker, has been a tireless advocate for the men, internationalizing their case and trying to bring as much influence to bear as possible on the secretive Colombia power structure.

With her was Pedro Mahecha, a 44-year-old defense lawyer for the men, who has been brave beyond belief in taking up their case. In a country where human rights lawyers often go missing or are found dead, Mahecha, a member of a Colombian lawyer’s collective which defends human rights, is taking his life in his hands on this high profile case.

Both are categoric in their assertion that the men are innocent. The evidence is hard to argue with. A main part of the prosecution case, that the men had explosive residue on their clothes has been blown apart, ironically by a British expert who formerly convicted many IRA members in English courts.

The star witness has stated that he saw the three men train the FARC guerillas for a definite period in February 2001. The problem is that one of the men, Monaghan, was busy in Ireland at the time on a peace process project, and there are no fewer than three different videotapes, including one filmed by Irish national TV station RTE in which he appears during that period.

Then it was proven that Niall Connolly, formerly a Sinn Fein representative in Cuba, had dinner on one of the nights in question with a representative of the Irish Embassy in Mexico and with a delegation from the Irish parliament. McCauley likewise has solid alibis for the period in question.

Ruane says the men traveled to Colombia in order to advise FARC on the conduct of the peace process. FARC had taken over a swathe of the country on foot of a peace deal with the Colombia government. That deal has since collapsed, but during the time the men were there was every expectation that it could succeed.

Since the success of the Irish peace process there have been many such delegations sent abroad to advise other countries on the conduct of their own peace efforts. Indeed, there was group of Colombian experts in Ireland recently on the same mission in reverse.

Of course, the arrest of the men has become a huge international story. Both Mahecha and Ruane feel that is a positive development. 

Ruane feels that the only way to ensure that justice is done is to make it clear to the Colombian authorities that the world is watching as the single judge makes up his mind. Both of them feel that the men have a good chance of being cleared. 

Judge Jaino Acosta has impressed the defense during the trial hearings and has listened carefully to the evidence presented. Ruane feels if the judge is not pressured that he will certainly find in favor of the defendants.

That, of course, is a big if. The Colombian military and government are in the hands of hard right figures who have close links to paramilitaries. It is in their interest to have the men found guilty. 

Against that there are signs that the worldwide publicity surrounding the case has made them nervous and that they may want to avoid being so involved. “There is a possibility of a fair judgment if the judge is not pressured by military or executive power,” says Ruane.

It would be a remarkable verdict if the men were found innocent. The role of men like Pedro Mahecha, the soft-spoken family man who literally puts his life on the line for his clients, would receive a powerful vindication. 

The verdict is expected in the next two months. Until then, the men are being held in the notorious La Modelo jail where their safety is always a prime concern. If convicted they face up to 20 years behind bars.