A verdict in the case of the three Irishmen charged with training Colombia's FARC rebels and using false passports is believed to be imminent. The judge in the case, Dr Jairo Acosta, said he would deliver his judgment either today or on Monday "at the latest".
International media and other interested parties are converging on Bogota in anticipation of the judgment. Mr James Monaghan (58), Mr Martin McCauley (41), and Mr Niall Connolly (38), could face up to 22 years in prison if convicted on both charges.
They were arrested at Bogota's El Dorado international airport on August 11th, 2001, and subsequently charged with training the Marxist guerrillas of the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) in IRA bomb-making techniques and with travelling on false documentation. The bomb training charge incurs a sentence of between 8 and 14 years and the passports offence carries two to eight years.
The Sinn Féin MLA, Ms Caitriona Ruane, and Senator Mary White of Fianna Fáil were travelling separately to Bogota for the verdict. This was due to be delivered in the form of a letter to the three men, but the judge has now indicated his intention to announce it in the Palace of Justice, in Bogota's Bolivar Square.
The Palace of Justice was the scene of a dramatic siege in 1985 when another group of Marxist rebels, M-19, took senior members of the judiciary hostage.
The Colombian armed forces stormed the building and over 100 people were killed, including 11 members of the Supreme Court.
It was unclear last night whether family members of the three accused men would be travelling to Bogota. Members of the Monaghan, McCauley and Connolly families have previously attended sessions of the trial and visited the men in La Modelo Prison, outside Bogota. The Irish Ambassador to Mexico and Colombia, Mr Art Agnew, also attended the trial but was not expected to be present for the verdict.
Speaking by telephone from Ireland, Senator White said she would be travelling to Bogota tomorrow. She praised the Irish Ambassador in London, Mr Daithí Ó Ceallaigh, who had intervened with the Colombian authorities to ensure she could enter the country at such short notice.
Colombian visa requirements for Irish nationals have become extremely strict, but Senator White said she would be travelling on a diplomatic passport.
"I will be reporting to the Taoiseach," she said. Senator White is also a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Oireachtas and said she was notifying the chairman, Dr Michael Woods, of her intention to travel.
"I have been to Colombia six times already. I will be observing again what's going on." The Department of Foreign Affairs had "pulled out all the stops" to ensure she could travel.
She had attended many sessions of the trial, which concluded in early August last year. "I didn't see any evidence to prove they were guilty of the main offence they were being accused of, namely training the FARC." Travelling on a passport under an assumed name was a particular issue for former prisoners, she added.
There was widespread speculation about the likely outcome of the case, but no official indication of any kind was available last night. Mr Monaghan, who has Dublin and Donegal connections, and Mr McCauley, who is originally from Lurgan, Co Armagh, are both well known republicans and have been given prison sentences in the past for their activities.
Mr Connolly, a member of a well-known Dublin family and brother of the prominent investigative journalist Frank Connolly, was the Sinn Féin representative in Cuba, although this was initially denied by the party. Prior to his arrest, he lived in Havana with his partner and their son.
Among the key issues in the trial was the reliability or otherwise of alleged former members of the FARC who claimed to have seen the three men training the guerrillas. This was strongly disputed by the defence who produced numerous witnesses who testified that they met or saw the accused men in Ireland or Cuba on the dates when they were alleged to be training the FARC.
Another major issue was the validity and reliability of various forensic tests conducted on the men's clothing in the period following their arrest. The negative findings which emerged from some of these tests were strongly disputed by an international forensics expert, Dr Keith Borer.