Three suspected IRA members, under arrest in Colombia on charges of teaching bomb-making techniques to leftist rebels, will be arraigned on October 4th in a Bogota court, officials said today.
The four men were Mr Jim Monaghan, Mr Martin McCauley and Mr Niall Connolly were arrested in Bogota international airport last August for allegedly teaching bomb-making skills to members of FARC, Colombia's Revolutionary Armed Forces, an organisation which has been at war with the government for the past 40 years.
The three, who face up to eight years in prison and are being held in a high-security jail in Bogota, have denied IRA links and have accused foreign intelligence agencies of inventing the charges to derail Northern Ireland's tortuous peace process.
They were initially arrested for travelling on false passports, a minor infringement which usually results in deportation.
But Colombian military intelligence officials have said the men gave the guerrilla group FARC training that helped the rebels improve their proficiency in waging "urban terrorism," including the use of mortars and remote-controlled car bombs.
The men told prosecutors they were in Colombia to enjoy the wildlife and to learn about a now-defunct peace process which was aimed at ending Colombia's 38-year-old guerrilla war.
A spokesman for Colombia's public prosecutor's office, said the Irishmen will be tried by a "specialised judge." Specialised judges in Colombia deal with cases involving terrorism, drug trafficking and kidnapping.