Lawyers for three Irish republicans convicted of providing terrorist training to Colombian guerrillas expressed hope today that the verdict would be overturned on appeal after a member of the three-judge panel said questionable evidence was allowed in court.
Judge Jorge Enrique Torres, in his signed dissenting opinion, said much of the evidence used to convict James Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McCauley - whose whereabouts are now unknown - was "questionable".
Judge Torres was on the three-judge panel that convicted the trio in December and sentenced them to 17 years in a Colombian prison, overturning an earlier acquittal on the terrorism-related charges.
The statement shows he differed sharply with the other two judges on the panel who voted to convict the trio.
The defence lawyers, who presented Judge Torres' statement at a press conference in Bogota today after it was released by the court, said they would use it to reinforce their appeal made in February to Colombia's Supreme Court.
"I was overwhelmed by the countless amount of technical evidence used in this case that was questionable," Judge Torres wrote.
Pedro Mahecha, one of the defence lawyers, claimed the dissenting judge's arguments indicated the other two judges convicted the trio due to pressures from Colombian politicians and military officials.
"Torres clearly points out that there was no certainty of guilt in the case," Mr Mahecha said. "The ruling was completely politicised."
After their initial acquittal in June, the trio walked out of a Bogota prison and were ordered to remain in Colombia pending the government's appeal of the acquittal. But they have not been heard from since.
Jorge Noguera, head of Colombia's secret police DAS, said today he was sure the men had fled the country.
The trio, who have been blamed for an IRA plot, were arrested at Bogota's airport in August 2001 after leaving a stronghold of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc, deep in Colombia's southern jungles. Authorities accused them of teaching Farc rebels how to make bombs and mortars.
Mr Monaghan, Mr McCauley and Mr Connolly said they were innocent and were in Colombia to observe the government's peace talks with the Farc, which collapsed six months after their arrest.
The Farc has been waging a 40-year-old struggle to topple the government in a conflict that kills more than 3,000 people every year.
AP