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Three Irish detainees
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Three Irishmen suspected of training Marxist rebels in Colombia could face British courts if they are deported from the South American country, it was claimed today.
Alliance Party spokesman Mr Stephen Farry argued the three men could face charges in Britain under the Terrorism Act 2000 if they were involved in terrorism abroad.
Mr Farry said: "What we are saying is: If for some reason the men cannot be prosecuted in Colombia, the British government should bear in mind if the three are deported that there is a provision in the Terrorism Act to try British and Irish citizens suspected of terrorist activity overseas.
"In particular, Section 54 of the legislation talks about the training in the use of explosives and firearms as a terrorist offence.
"There are a lot of questions out there about what happened in Colombia," he said.
Colombian authorities have accused the three men they are holding - Mr Niall Connolly, Mr Martin McCauley and Mr Jim Monaghan - of using illegal documentation and training rebels from the Marxist FARC terrorist movement.
The men can be held for eight months before they must be officially charged or released. They were travelling on false British and Irish passports when they were arrested as they prepared to board a flight from Colombia to Paris on August 11th.
A first secretary at the Irish Embassy in Mexico, Ms Sheila Maguire, is tomorrow expected to visit the jail where the men are being held to report on allegations of harsh living conditions.
The allegations were made by Ms Anne Barr, a peace activist from Donegal who now lives in Colombia, who visited the men on Sunday.
PA