The Government has interceded with the Colombian authorities in an effort to secure an early resolution of the dilemma of the "Colombia Three", who still remain in prison after being found not guilty on a charge of training the FARC guerrillas in bomb-making techniques. Deaglán de Bréadún, Foreign Affairs Correspondent.
The three Irishmen - James Monaghan (58), from Co Donegal, Martin McCauley (41), from Lurgan, Co Armagh and Mr Niall Connolly (38), from Dublin - were convicted on the lesser charge of using false passports but their sentences, ranging from two to four years, could be suspended if certain conditions were met.
If their lawyers made a bail payment of €17,000 to the court, supplied in the form of a loan by the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin, the men could go free. But the defence team and the "Bring Them Home Campaign" refuse to do so, claiming that the men could be shot as soon as they left Bogota's La Modelo gaol.
However, a request for a "safe house" with armed protection for the three men, as well as for Ms Caitríona Ruane MLA, chairwoman of the Bring Them Home Campaign and her sister, Ms Therese Ruane, has been turned down by the Colombian authorities.
The Colombian Attorney General, Mr Luis Camilo Osorio, is entitled to lodge an appeal against the verdict in the case and there were unconfirmed reports that he had taken the necessary preliminary steps in this regard. Today is understood to be the deadline for lodging the appeal. It is normal practice to lodge appeals in such cases in Colombia and the appeal process can take as long as two years.
Nevertheless, the prospect remained that the men could still be out of the country by the middle of this week. The defence lawyers say they are wary of any arrangement which would involve the men leaving jail but remaining in Colombia.
The defence team has sent a petition to the judge, Dr Jairo Acosta, to allow the men to leave the country because they claim their personal security cannot be guaranteed. The judge has until the end of this week to rule on the petition, having consulted first of all with the police authorities.
Although the level of politically-inspired violence has declined in some respects in Colombia, it still remains a dangerous place. It is not possible accurately to assess the threat to the men's lives, but past experience in Colombia suggests extra precautions would be sensible.
Ms Caitríona Ruane of the Bring Them Home Campaign, who is also a Sinn Féin MLA in the suspended Northern Ireland Assembly, appealed for support in a statement issued to the media which was also sent to Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Prof Noam Chomsky and prominent politicians.
She said the Colombian government had created this problem by prejudicial comments. "They are the ones who have put all our lives in danger and now they are refusing to take the necessary steps. One day we have the vice-president on television saying that he supports the decision of the judge, the next we have the Minister for Defence, and senior members of the police ridiculing it.
"The Colombian government need to rein in their military and police. Who is in charge here, the executive or the security agencies?"
Ms Ruane has discussed the case by telephone with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, and, in her statement, she said she had written him a letter requesting that he "make formal representation to the Colombian government at the highest level to send these men home now". The Irish Ambassador to Mexico, Mr Art Agnew, has been dealing with the case on behalf of the Government.