Colombia judge weighs the evidence

The three, Niall Connolly, James Monaghan and Martin McCauley, had refused to attend their trial, saying that the trial was politically prejudiced against them. But they asked Acosta if they could make statements of their innocence at the close of the trial, which he agreed to.
Judge Acosta, who under the Colombian judicial system presides without a jury, has about two weeks in which to reach his decision, but suggested that he might require longer because, he said, the case was a complex one.
Summing up, prosecutor Carlos Sanchez called for the maximum sentence of 20 years for the three men, who were arrested in Bogot