The judge deciding the fate of three Irishmen accused of training Colombian rebels in terrorist tactics has said he cannot make a ruling in the case until the end of the year at the earliest.
Judge Jairo Acosta said his overwhelming caseload made it "physically impossible" for him to issue a verdict within the recommended 15 working days after the trial ended on August 1st.
"The 15-day rule only applies when it's possible," judge Acosta said. "But there are still between 40 and 45 cases that I need to rule on before this one. Not to mention that I have at least one or two hearings a day on current cases.
"It is physically impossible to fulfill that requirement."
Judge Acosta is one of nine judges in Bogota who specialise in terrorism, kidnapping and drug trafficking cases. He said he usually issues between three to 10 verdicts a month, making a ruling on this case highly unlikely before December.
Mr James Monaghan, Mr Martin McCauley and Mr Niall Connolly were arrested in Bogota's airport in August 2001 having spent time in the area of south Colombia controlled by FARC rebels.
During their trial, which stretched for nine months, the defendants were portrayed by prosecutors as evil men who trained the rebels in explosives and terrorist tactics.
But defence lawyers insisted their clients only wanted to observe Colombia's now defunct peace process. The FACRC lost their safe haven when peace talks with the government collapsed in February 2002.
The men are charged with training terrorists as well as falsification of identity for travelling to Colombia on false passports.
The terrorism charges carry between eight and 14 years in prison, and the false identity between two and eight. If found guilty on both charges, the men could face up to 22 years in prison, Judge Acosta said.
AP