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Trial of Irish trio opens in Colombia
BOGOTA, Colombia -- The trial of three Irish Republican Army suspects accused of training Colombian rebels is due to open on Monday in Bogota. James Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McCauley face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty after been charged with training Marxist Farc rebels. They have denied the claim. The trio were arrested at Bogota's airport in August 2001 after visiting a rebel stronghold in southern Colombia, where prosecutors say they trained insurgents in explosives and other techniques. The three suspects, who were traveling on false passports, insist they were in Colombia to observe the peace process between former President Andres Pastrana and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). A delegation of Irish politicians and human rights activists are in Colombia to observe the start of the trial, the opening of which is expected to last three days after which the court will adjourn until January. Trials in Colombia are not held continuously until completed. Lawyers work on various cases at the same time, and it is customary for a trial to take place in small segments over a period of months. Gerry Adams, the leader of Northern Ireland's IRA-linked political party Sinn Fein, has acknowledged Connolly was the Latin American representative for the party. Monaghan is an IRA veteran who was convicted in 1971 for possessing explosives and conspiring to cause explosions. McCauley was wounded during a police ambush at an IRA arms dump in 1982 and was later convicted of weapons possession.
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