The three Irishmen acquitted last month of training guerrillas in Colombia may not be allowed to leave the country for several years because of a decision by the Colombian attorney general's office to appeal the ruling.
Legal sources in Bogota said it could take as long as five years for the appeal case to reach the Supreme Court.
A spokeswoman for the attorney general's office confirmed that James Monaghan (58), Martin McCauley (41), and Niall Connolly (38), would not be allowed to leave Colombia until the appeals process is completed.
The attorney general's office, which led the prosecution against the three Irishmen, formally lodged its appeal last Friday. The appeal is now to be considered by a three-person judicial tribunal.
Defence lawyers for the three men have made a separate submission for their clients to be allowed to leave immediately on grounds of personal safety.
Ms Caitríona Ruane of the Bring Them Home Campaign said the men were "marginally safer in jail than outside because at least the Colombian government has responsibility for them now.
"Those men cannot stay in this country. If they are released from jail and stay in Colombia they will be dead in two days. The Irish Government knows that. Everyone knows that. The only reason they are alive is because everyone thought they would be convicted."
In his ruling last month, Dr Jairo Acosta found the three Irishmen not guilty of training FARC guerrillas in bomb-making techniques but handed down sentences of between two and four years for the lesser charge of using false passports.
Citing major flaws in the investigation, the judge ordered that two of the main prosecution witnesses - both alleged FARC deserters - be investigated for perjury.
Ms Ruane said that by appealing the ruling the attorney general was "trying to take the sting out of it". Arising from the finding on false witnesses, she said: "People here are asking, one, who put them up to it, and two, how many more people are in jail due to false witnesses."
A bail payment of €17,000 lent by the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin, has not been lodged because of fears for the safety of the three on the streets of Bogota. - (Additional reporting Reuters)
