A Fine Gael senator said last night he was going ahead with a visit to Colombia later this month to monitor the trial of three Irish citizens charged with presenting false identity documents and training members of the FARC paramilitary organisation.
Following a Labour Party decision that its Dublin Central TD, Mr Joe Costello, should withdraw from the group of observers, Senator Paul Bradford said he had come under no pressure whatsoever to back out.
"We are going as neutral observers in order to ensure that people facing serious charges will get a fair trial. Hopefully the presence of observers will help ensure the transparency of the process," he said.
He was attending "as an individual" and not as a representative of his party and was paying his own expenses. "We will also be trying to see that they are being held in reasonable and acceptable prison conditions, which is purely a humanitarian issue," he said.
A Fine Gael press spokeswoman said: "He is not attending on behalf of Fine Gael. He has decided to go in a personal capacity, to act as an observer to ensure that these people get a fair trial."
The other Oireachtas members travelling to Colombia are: Mr John Curran TD (Fianna Fáil); Mr Seán Crowe TD (Sinn Féin); Mr Finian McGrath TD (Independent); and Senator Mary White (Fianna Fáil).
The name of Mr Costello, recently appointed as Labour spokesman on justice, was also on the list issued yesterday by the Bring Them Home group, which is campaigning on behalf of Mr Niall Connolly, Mr Martin McCauley and Mr James Monaghan, who have been held in three different jails in the Colombian capital, Bogota, since their arrest on August 11th, 2001. However, when Mr Costello brought up the matter at yesterday's meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party, it was decided by majority vote that he should not attend.
A spokesman said the majority felt, in view of the fact that an Irish diplomatic representative would attend the entire proceedings as an observer and there would also be a significant media presence, that there was no particular need for anybody from the Labour Party to go.
He added, however, that "genuine concerns" were expressed about the safety of the three accused.
A spokeswoman for the Bring Them Home campaign said they were surprised and disappointed at the decision. "We would like to thank Joe Costello for the work that he has done to secure the rights of the men to date," she said.
Mr Curran, a Fianna Fáil TD for the new constituency of Dublin Mid West, told RTÉ's News at One that the delegation was concerned to ensure there should be a fair trial.
Mr Costello, a longtime campaigner for prisoners' rights, told the programme he was disappointed by the decision: "I would have preferred if we were represented." The Labour Party would have paid his costs, he added.
The accused men, known as the Colombia Three, are due to appear in court again on December 2nd. The Irish parliamentary delegation arrives in Colombia the previous week and will seek meetings with government representatives and prosecution and defence lawyers as well as international and human rights organisations.