Riot in La Picota jail
4 April, 2002 --
Five prison officers were held captive yesterday in the
Colombian jail where three Irishmen are being detained
pending their trial. The disturbances broke out in Patio A
of La Picota, which adjoins the section where Niall
Connolly, Martin McCauley and Jim Monaghan are being held.
In a brief telephone communication to Caitriona Ruane,
spokesperson for the Campaign, Connolly said that prisoners
in Patio B, where he is being held with McCauley and
Monaghan, were confined to their cells while negotiations
continued between prison officials and prisoners holding the
five hostages. There were initial fears that the riot that
erupted early on Tuesday could spill into the section where
the three Irishmen are being held.
The protest followed complaints by prisoners in Patio A over
what they claim are restrictive visiting conditions for
their families and inadequate access to telephones. Guards
on Wednesday morning stormed the wing to end the protest and
ten prisoners are now being transferred to the North of the
country.
It is believed that the section where the protest erupted
holds a mixture of criminals, right wing paramilitaries and
left wing guerrillas.
A spokesperson for the Bring Them Home campaign said that
she had contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs when
news of the disturbances was reported on Monday.
"We have been in contact with the Department and have asked
that they make immediate contact with the prison authorities
to ensure that the men are safe," said Caitriona Ruane. "We
have said from day one that their lives are in danger every
minute that they are in Colombia."
She also confirmed that recently confirmed medical tests
have shown that food prepared in the kitchen of the jail has
been contaminated with strychnine.
A blood test carried out last month on a prisoner in Patio B
indicated traces of strychnine in his system. Following an
investigation, it emerged that the poison originated in the
kitchen, where a number of paramilitaries have access to
food.
"We have sought independent medical tests in order to
establish whether any of the three have been poisoned," she
said. "The authorities in Ireland and Colombia are fully
aware of what is happening. These incidents confirm that
men's lives are under threat every day they are held in
Colombia. Two weeks ago Peter Madden, the men's Irish lawyer
and myself visited the men; they raised their concerns about
the poison with us and asked for independent tests to be
carried out. Each of them is sharing a cell with men charged
with drug trafficking offences, awaiting extradition. We
have asked the prison authorities to move them in together"
Cristin McCauley, wife of Martin McCauley, said that the
men's families are `sick' with worry. "We are worried sick.
Coming after the discovery of poison in the food this riot
makes it more urgent than ever that these three men are
immediately brought home," she said.
While the Colombian prosecutor recently announced that the
three men will be tried with training FARC guerrillas and
carrying false passports, the decision has been appealed by
the men's lawyers in Bogota. A decision on the appeal is
expected within weeks but all this takes place against a
deteriorating political situation in the country.
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