Columbia 3 back in Ireland! (moved from ATSNN), page 1

The 'Columbia 3' are three Irish Republican Army (IRA) members who went to Columbia and were charged with training members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC). The FARC is a banned terrorist organisation that has links to some drug lords.

www.freerepublic.com
3 IRA-linked fugitives back in Ireland - Trained FARC in Columbia - hid out in Venezuela/Cuba
Boston Globe ^ | August 6, 2005 | Shawn Pogatchnik, AP

Posted on 08/06/2005 1:32:41 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife

DUBLIN -- Three men linked to the Irish Republican Army who were convicted of training rebels in Colombia have returned surreptitiously to Ireland, eight months after going on the run.

RTE, the Irish national broadcasters, carried an interview with one of the fugitives, Jim Monaghan. He said all three had returned to Ireland recently, ''and, as you can imagine, a lot of people in a lot of countries had to help us

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

The three IRA men were arrested in Columbia 2 years and charged with training members of FARC. The Columbian government won the case against these men on appeal and they were sentenced to 17 years in jail. These men skipped their bail and were not seen since until now.

The problem faced by the Irish government now is that there is no extradition treaty between them and the Columbian government. The Irish government cannot even arrest these men at the moment. It was known in the past that the three travelled to Columbia using false passports, but no charges have been brought yet as there is insufficient evidence.

These Columbia 3 are clearly affiliated to a banned terrorist organisation and have helped another banned organisation that helps fuel the drug trade into the USA. Yet, they have not served any time for their crime. This is wrong. I think if governments are to show resolve in the fight against terror, all forms of terrorism should be treated the same (that is those committed by muslims and by non muslims). I say send them back to Columbia to face the music!

Related News Links:
breakingnews.ie
www.catholicireland.net

[edit on 12-8-2005 by hellfire3]