The Colombian authorities have formally requested the extradition of three Irishmen who fled the country after being convicted of training Farc guerrillas.
Papers seeking the extradition of the "Colombia Three" were sent yesterday to the legal division of the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin, The Irish Times understands.
The papers drawn up by the office of the fiscalia (attorney general) in Bogota are expected to arrive in Dublin today. The move poses a major dilemma for the Government, under intense international pressure to take action against the three men as part of the "war on terror", as well as considerable domestic pressure to do nothing.
Last night the Department of Foreign Affairs said its role in extradition requests was confined to acting as a "diplomatic postbag" for the Department of Justice.
A Department of Justice spokeswoman said that a request, when received, would first be checked for completeness. If legal advice was required, the Attorney General would be consulted and, if further information was needed, the Colombian authorities would be asked for it through the diplomatic channel. Once the file was complete, the matter would be referred to the courts for a decision, she said.
The request is not unexpected. Last Sunday the DUP’s Jeffrey Donaldson said Colombia was ready to seek the extradition of the three men, Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan. Mr Donaldson had just returned from the South American country, where he met security chiefs, the Colombian vicepresident Francisco Santos and victims of the Farc rebels.
Mr Santos told The Irish Times last month he would be making an extradition request "sooner rather than later". He said: "We want them in Colombia. We want them to pay their jail term in Colombia."
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Tánaiste Mary Harney have said Ireland will consider any request for assistance from Colombia, although legal sources say the chances of the three men being extradited are remote. This is because no extradition treaty exists between Ireland and Colombia.
In addition, there is no international treaty to which both countries have signed up which covers the offences of which the men were convicted. Over the past month, officials at the Department of Justice and the Attorney General’s office have been examining various European and international treaties relating to the prevention of terrorism, prisoners and criminal law to see whether any could be applied to the "Colombia Three".
The Tánaiste has suggested a European agreement on transfer of prisoners could be used to require the men to complete their 17-year jail terms in Ireland.
The men were travelling on false passports when they were arrested in Colombia in 2001. All were convicted there of using false passports but cleared of training Farc guerrillas. On appeal by the Colombian authorities, the latter verdict was reversed and the men received 17-year sentences. By then, they had jumped bail and gone into hiding. To the embarrassment of the Government, they re-emerged in Ireland last month.
McCauley and Monaghan later presented themselves voluntarily for questioning by gardaí, while Connolly was arrested and questioned for 12 hours. A file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to Connolly’s use of a false Irish passport while in Colombia. The other two men used false British passports.
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has said the men would not be extradited "under any circumstances whatsoever", a view supported by Fianna Fáil backbenchers such as Jim McDaid and Mary White.
The US State Department believes the men should be jailed either in Colombia or in Ireland.
