CNN, Wednesday, August 9, 2006; Posted: 2:08 a.m. EDT
Sulawesi trio to face firing squad
TENTENA, Indonesia (AP) -- Three Christian men found guilty of inciting a bloody
outbreak of fighting with Muslims in eastern Indonesia in 2000 are to be executed on
Saturday, prosecutors have told the men's family.
Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da Silva and Marinus Riwu were found guilty in 2001 after
months of violence on Sulawesi island between Muslim and Christian gangs in which
about 1,000 people from both faiths died.
Tibo's son, Robertus, said prosecutors informed him by letter on Tuesday that his
father and the two other men would be killed in the early hours of Saturday morning by
firing squad.
"I was very shocked to read the letter saying that my father and his friends are
scheduled to be executed this weekend," Robertus said in the Sulawesi town of
Tentena. "My father is convinced that he is innocent."
All three have said they are not guilty, but their final appeal was turned down by
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last year. A lawyer for the men was quoted in
Koran Tempo daily as saying he was trying to win them a last-minute stay of
execution based on new evidence.
Several hardline Muslim leaders in Sulawesi have called on the men to executed.
Amnesty International, an international rights group that opposes the death sentence
in all cases, said it was concerned at reports indicating that the trial of the three men
did not meet international standards of fairness.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|
