The Colombian government has asked the appeals court to "revise its decision" and look at the possibility of allowing the three Irishmen currently jailed there to return to Ireland while the appeal is being heard in Bogota.
However, Vice-President Francisco Santos told Colombia's RCN television last night that the judicial system was entirely independent of the executive, and it was free to decide against the government's request.
Martin McCauley, Niall Connolly and James Monaghan were cleared of charges of training FARC rebels in terrorism tactics by a Bogota court in April. The judge ruled that they could leave prison conditionally but would have to pay a bond of around €20,000 and remain in the country while their appeal was heard.
They were found guilty of entering Colombia on false passports and are currently in a maximum security prison in Bogota.
Supporters of the men say their lives would be in danger from right-wing paramilitaries if they left jail. Last month the magistrate who heads the three-judge panel which will study the appeal, Dr Martha Lucía Tamayo, said it would be "at least a couple of months" before they got around to studying the case files. She said she hoped to make a decision before the end of the year.
Ms Caitriona Ruane, spokeswoman for the Bring Them Home solidarity campaign, said Mr Santos's comments were "a very positive development". Because of a heavy workload, appeals in Colombia can take up to one year at the tribunal, or appeals court, and up to five years if the case goes to the Supreme Court, the nation's highest.
Deaglán de Bréadún writes:
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, held discussions with the Colombian President, Mr Alvaro Uribe, at the EU-Latin American Caribbean (EU-LAC) summit in Guadalajara, Mexico, at the end of last month.
The Taoiseach suggested two alternative approaches for dealing with the appeal by the Colombian Attorney General against the verdict of "not guilty" on the charge of training FARC guerrillas.
The first was to expedite the appeal, which implied the appointment of a more senior special judge or official to deal with the matter. The other proposal was to allow the three Irishmen to return home pending the appeal.
It now appears that the Colombian government has opted to recommend the second course of action to the judiciary, but as of last night the government in Bogota had made no official contact with its Irish counterparts.
It is understood that Vice-President Santos met the Sinn Féin MLAs, Ms Ruane and Mr Gerry Kelly yesterday and made comments similar to the remarks he made on Colombian television.
In the broadcast he indicated that he and his colleagues had no objection to the three men being allowed home pending an appeal, but that it was ultimately a matter for the judiciary.
Mr Kelly portrayed the statement as the Colombian authorities accepting that the three men can return home pending the appeal.
Ms Ruane welcomed the announcement. "The men's lawyers are now putting a petition in to the magistrates asking that the men be allowed to leave Colombia and return to Ireland. They are asking them to adjudicate on this matter as quickly as possible given the urgency of the situation," she said.