12月16日，哥伦比亚政府拘留的三名爱尔兰共和军嫌疑人分别被判处17年零6个月的有期徒刑。据悉，在2001年8月被捕之前，他们曾向哥伦比亚左翼叛军（“哥伦比亚革命武装"游击队）销售火箭等武器，并训练叛军部队研制炸药。外电报道如下：A Colombian court has sentenced three IRA-linked men to up to 17 1/2 years in prison for training leftist rebels in terrorist tactics in a guerrilla stronghold in southern Colombia, a spokeswoman for the trio said Thursday. Caitriona Ruane, who heads the "Bring Them Home" campaign that sought the Irishmen's release, said the court overturned an earlier decision clearing James Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McCauley of terrorism-related charges. Overturn表示“倾覆，毁灭，推翻，翻转”，此处特指“通过法律手段否决、使无效”，例如：the continuing legal battles to overturn the conviction（为使定罪无效而进行的持续合法的斗争）。