A Colombian judge has postponed a hearing for three alleged members of the IRA charged with teaching bomb-making techniques to Marxist rebels because the men refused to leave their prison cells, a court spokesman said.
The hearing against Niall Connolly, Jim Monaghan and Martin McCauley, who were arrested a year ago traveling on false passports, has been rescheduled for October 16th, the spokesman told reporters.
He did not say why the men had refused to leave their cells in Bogota's La Picota jail. But, outside the Bogota courthouse, an angry group of about 20 relatives of Colombian soldiers killed in action had shouted insults at the suspects' lawyers and held a banner saying "IRA go home - kill your own people".
The trio admit spending time in a southern jungle town controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - known by the Spanish initials FARC - but say they were just sightseeing and studying Colombia's defunct peace talks.
Their lawyers say evidence against them is flimsy and that their chances of a fair trial are jeopardized by political pressure from both the Colombian and US governments.