The trial of three Irishmen accused of aiding terrorist activity in Colombia has again been adjourned after the trial judge 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 today rejected as evidence by Judge Jairo Acosta. He gave no reason for his decision.
Mr Jim Monaghan, Mr Martin McCauley and Mr Niall Connolly have been detained in various Colombian jails since August 2001 charged with training the leftist rebel group Farc in bomb making and other terrorist techniques.
Today's adjournemnt followed evidence by former IRA hunger striker Dr Laurence McKeown who yesterday provided payslips and documents showing Mr Monaghan was in the employ of a republican ex-prisoners organisation, Coiste na h-Iarchimi at the time he was alleged to have been in Colombia. Dr McKeown also provided sworn affidavits stating he saw Mr Monaghan in Belfast on December 2000 and February 2001 - dates the prosecution alleges he was training Farc guerrilas.
The Judge also refused to accept work records for another of the defendants, Mr Martin McCauley, showing that he was employed in Ireland on dates the prosecution claims he was in Colombia.
In April, another witness for the defence, Mr Mike Ritchie, submitted a video to the Court showing Mr Monaghan hosting a conference on peace and reconciliation in Dublin on 7th of February 2001. In the video, Mr Monaghan makes reference to the Colombia. He also refers to an article in that same day's Irish Timesnewspaper about a last-ditch attempt to save Colombia's faltering peace process.
The Judge ordered the video to be examined by a special unit of DAS — Colombia's security police — in order to determine its authenticity but has not referred to the submission since the resumption of the trial yesterday.
The trial resumed yesterday after a six-week delay because prosecution witnesses were unable to attend the hearings in the Colombian capital, Bogota. The trial is due to resume at the end of the month.