Posted on 08/18/2005 3:57:49 PM PDT by aculeus
DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) - The three IRA-linked fugitives who fled convictions in Colombia surrendered Thursday to Irish police after eight months on the run, police officials said.
Ireland's national police force said in a statement that James Monaghan, Martin McCauley and Niall Connolly were being interviewed by officers at various police stations in Dublin, the Irish capital.
The three were convicted last year of training Colombia's largest rebel group in bomb-making techniques. They disappeared from the South American country eight months ago and resurfaced earlier this month in Ireland, which has no extradition treaty with Colombia.
The force said authorities had been in contact with the men's lawyers.
The Irish Republican Army-linked Sinn Fein party said the men had handed themselves in voluntarily and should be allowed to get on with their lives.
The trio, using false identities, were arrested in August 2001 while trying to leave Colombia after spending five weeks in jungles controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the major rebel group trying to topple the country's U.S.-backed government.
British anti-terrorist police have identified Monaghan as the IRA's senior weapons engineer and McCauley as one of his deputies. Sinn Fein initially denied any knowledge of Connolly, but two months after the arrest announced he was Sinn Fein's Cuba-based representative for Latin America, a previously unknown post.
The men at various times have claimed either to have been nature-lovers on vacation or researchers into Colombia's peace process. Colombian state prosecutors accused them of training FARC rebels how to make IRA-style car bombs and heavy mortars.
They were initially acquitted of training rebels in June 2004, but the judge ordered them to remain in Colombia pending the government's appeal. The appellate court in December ruled 2-1 to convict the men on all charges - but police couldn't find them.
Sinn Fein legislator Aengus O Snodaigh said in a statement that the men "have no case whatsoever to answer."
Colombia has demanded that the three men either be extradited or serve their full prison terms in Ireland.
AP-ES-08-18-05 1808EDT
These bastards are terrorist scum. They deserve to be hanged.
Watch out for some flames from the IRA terrorist supporters on Free Republic.
I'll summon some friends.
This wasn't part of McGuiness' plans when he invited them back to Ulster.
Guess he didn't factor in the desire of the Republic and the Garda to catch these anti-american losers.
Thanks, PAR35, the Irish FReepers have some real supporters on FR - unlike the IRA trolls such as kellynla and Paul C. Jesop
I'll be waiting to see what happens with THIS!
Thanks for the ping. ;o]
It has been my experience on FR that the posters from Ireland have a more realistic picture of the IRA than do the Ted Kennedy types in the US.
Normally with their heads up the proverbial...
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