Three Irishmen being detained in Bogota over their links with the left wing guerilla force FARC were there "in the context" of the Colombian peace process, Fianna Fáil deputy David Andrews said today.
During a visit to see the men, said they would all deny any charges levelled against them by the Colombian authorities.
He added that the investigation into why Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan were in the FARC-occupied zone in Colombia last summer was coming to an end.
The Attorney General would soon decide whether to prosecute them, he said.
And he said, despite fears for their safety, there were no signs that their human rights were being abused.
The men were arrested in a demilitarised zone, which FARC is currently occupying by agreement of the Colombian government under a shaky peace process.
They are accused of helping to train the anti-Government and anti-American Marxist guerrillas there.
But their arrest has also threatened relations between Sinn Féin and Washington, as links have been established between the men and Gerry Adams' party.
Mr Andrews went to see the three in his role as parliamentary representative for the mother of Niall Connolly and as chairman of the Irish Red Cross.
"They said they were there in the context of the peace process," said Mr Andrews after speaking to them for an hour and a half.
"If a charge is laid against these three individuals then it will go into a court phase. That point may be reached within the next month."
But he added: "As far as they are concerned they are going to resist the charges, one of which is being involved in illegal activities and the second is travelling on false papers."
Mr Andrews told RTÉ radio the men looked well when he met them.
"They have been in some terrible places but they have free association and there are opportunities to see the sun," he said.
"On the balance of the various places of detention they have been they are relatively satisfied," he added.
A Washington Congressional committee is still deciding whether to probe the links between FARC, Sinn Féin and the IRA.
President George W Bush's special adviser on Northern Ireland, Richard Haass, was today travelling to Belfast, where Ulster Unionists have promised to level new accusations linking the men to Sinn Féin.
UUP Assemblyman Reg Empey has said Mr Adams' party should be "worried" about the information they have.
Mr Haass will later meet with a Sinn Féin delegation. Mr Adams has already said he does not fear the outcome of the Congress investigation if it goes ahead.
Meanwhile, Mr Andrews will spend several more days in Bogota and will prepare a report.
He will also be meeting the families of the men on his return to Ireland.