Jakarta, Indonesia - Three men convicted in connection with riots that killed hundreds of people a few years ago are to be executed on Saturday, Indonesian officials said today, in a case marred by questions about their trial and stirring up the country’s sectarian politics.
The men are all Christians, which has raised questions about the role their religious faith may have played in scheduling them for execution, as well as broader questions about the fairness of the trial.
The men, two farmers and a mechanic, were convicted and sentenced to death, on charges of having been leaders of a Christian militia in Poso, a coastal town in Central Sulawesi, during communal strife that left several hundred Muslims and Christians dead in May 2000.
After wending through the Indonesian judicial system for five years and including a pardon request that was denied by President Susilo Bambang Yudyhono, their case has now become entangled with that of three Muslim men sentenced to death for their involvement in the bombings of Bali nightclubs in Oct. 2002. These three are scheduled to be executed later this month.
In interviews today, two government officials said that for political reasons it would be very difficult for the government to proceed with the execution of the Bali bombers if it did not first execute the Christians from Poso.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were expressing views contrary to the official government position, which is that the men had been fairly tried and had their appeals denied.
Indonesia’s population of more than 240 million is overwhelmingly Muslim, and though most are moderate and it is a secular state, politicians are wary of offending conservative Muslims, who appear to be gaining in numbers.
As events unfolded today, it was not at all clear, however, that the government would be able to proceed with the execution of the Bali bombers.
A lawyer for the men, Mahendra Datta, said in an interview that he was planning to file an appeal for his clients. Under Indonesian law, if he does in fact appeal — he has sent mixed messages in recent weeks — the executions would be automatically stayed.
Mr. Mahendra also questioned why the government was proceeding so quickly to execute his clients, who were convicted in 2003, while the Poso defendants were convicted in 2001.
The condemned men from Poso are Fabianus Tibo, 60, Marianus Riwu, 48, and Dominggus da Silva, 42.
In 2001, a three-judge court, after hearing testimony from 28 witnesses, found that Mr. Tibo was the leader of a Christian militia, called the “Red Group,” that Mr. da Silva was one of his commanders and that Mr. Riwu took part in the killings.
On one day during the May 2000 riots, the Christian gang members, armed with guns and machetes, killed scores of Muslim men, women and children who had sought protection in a religious school.
The trial was marked by troubling “irregularities,” said David McRae, a specialist in the Poso violence at The Australian National University.
One prosecution witness, for instance, slapped the three defendants before taking the stand, Mr. McRae said in a telephone interview from Canberra.
The trial was also affected by the atmosphere at the time, which saw crowds of angry Muslims gathered outside the courthouse during the trial, chanting, “Hang Tibo,’ and sometimes throwing rocks, Mr. McRae said.
Specific questions have been raised about the role of Mr. Tibo. He has not denied his involvement in the riots, but he has vigorously disputed that he was the mastermind.
“There is a very strong sense that whatever Tibo’s role might have been, and it’s fairly unclear, he certainly was not the mastermind” said Sidney Jones, director of the International Crises Group office in Jakarta. “So it seems giving the death penalty in this case is just extraordinarily over the top.”
During his trial, Mr. Tibo gave the court the names of 16 individuals who he said were the coordinators. Several were senior Christian church leaders.
Some Muslim leaders have called unsuccessfully for the government to undertake a thorough investigation of these allegations, and for postponing Mr. Tibo’s execution so that he can testify.