The following are excerpts from the declaration of Martin McCauley"My name is Martin John McCauley. I was born in Ireland in County Armagh in December 1962. I have been married to my wife Cristin for 18 years. We have three children.
". . . In the area of Armagh, where I lived, in the winter of 1982, there were a series of shooting incidents involving units of the RUC that left six unarmed men dead and myself seriously and permanently injured. Myself and a friend were in a barn used to store hay. A special unit of the RUC, without any warning, opened fire killing my friend and wounding me. At a later stage, three old weapons dating from before the Second World War, were found in the barn. None of these weapons had ammunition. There was serious disquiet after all of these incidents.
A senior member of the English police was sent to the north of Ireland to investigate the behaviour of the RUC.
". . . Following the signing of the Good Friday agreement, an International commission headed by Chris Patten, a former British government minister and former British Governor of Hong Kong, was established to make recommendations for the creation of a new police service that would be acceptable to all sections of the community. I gave evidence to this commission based on my own experiences at the hands of the RUC. As a result of my court case and the publicity it received, I was subjected to a campaign of vicious harassment by the RUC and the British military. A bomb was placed at my home.
". . . I met Niall Connolly through Jim, following a discussion on Latin America. When the idea of the trip to Colombia arose I agreed to travel with Jim and Niall.
". . . I have not been charged with any of the offences alleged by the RUC or the British Embassy. I am not a member of the IRA. I am not guilty of the charges laid out against me in this court.
". . . There is nothing more than a desire to travel unhindered in the fact that I was travelling on another name.
". . . I am not a member of Sinn Féin. I have worked for Sinn Féin candidates in elections. I believe in the right of the Irish people to control their destiny free from foreign occupation and interference.
". . . Elements in the Colombian military and the political establishment have fed lies and misinformation to the media to serve their own interests.
"The Embassy of the United States cannot escape criticism for its role in this affair. Their so-called forensic evidence against us is fraudulent and misleading."