The judge in the trial of three Irishmen on terrorism charges in Colombia has denied claims he was under political pressure from the police and military to jail them.
"There is no pressure here. A judge's job is not to submit to pressure," Judge Jairo Acosta said after he adjourned the six-month-long trial until July 28th, when he will hear final defence and prosecution arguments.
In the non-jury trial, Mr Acosta will both decide the verdict and fix any sentence for Mr Jim Monaghan, Mr Niall Connolly and Mr Martin McCauley.
They were arrested in August 2001 as they tried to leave Colombia using false passports. They are accused of training the leftist rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, in explosives and terrorism techniques.
Prosecutors are demanding maximum sentences of up to 20 years in prison for the three
Yesterday, Mr Acosta ruled defence documents inadmissible as evidence. Affidavits, work records and video submissions showing two of the accused were not in Colombia at the time the prosecution alleges were rejected by Mr Acosta, who gave no reason for his decision.
The defence has claimed political pressure for a guilty verdict ruins the chances of a fair trial.
"These men have been in jail for two years and should be sent home now. Who is training the prosecutors' witnesses to lie? Is it the Colombian military? Is it the Colombian police? Those are the questions we need to answer," said Ms Caitriona Ruane, of the trio's support group Bring Them Home.