International Herald Tribune, November 3, 2006
Indonesia charges 3 Muslims over beheading of Christian
schoolgirls
The Associated Press
Three Muslim men have been charged in connection with the beheading of three
Christian school girls last year in an Indonesian province fraught with sectarian
tension, and face possible death sentences if convicted, their lawyer said Friday.
The three men — Hasanuddin, Lilik Purnomo a! nd Irwanto Irano — are being charged
under Indonesia's harsh anti-terrorism law for their roles in the deaths of three girls
and the injuring of a fourth in Indonesia's Central Sulawesi province, a statement from
the Attorney General's Office said.
"Hasanuddin is also accused as the planner or motivator, and faces a maximum
penalty of death," said Muanas, a lawyer with the men's defense team.
The other two men also face the death penalty if convicted.
Sulawesi witnessed fierce gunbattles between Christians and Muslims from 1998 to
2002 that left at least 1,000 people from both faiths dead.
A peace agreement ended the worst of the violence, but tensions flared anew after the
execution last month of three Roman Catholic militants convicted of leading a 2000
attack on! an Islamic school that killed at least 70 people.
Critics say the men did not get a fair trial and allege that religion played a role in their
sentencing, noting that only a handful of Muslims were punished, and none given
more than 15 years in jail.
In weeks following the executions, mobs killed two Muslim traders and a prominent
Christian priest and at least seven bombs went off in Poso and nearby Palu, none of
them deadly.
Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, with 90 percent of its 220
million people practicing a moderate form of the faith. But Central Sulawesi has a
roughly equal number of Muslim and Christians.
Muanas said his clients would be tried by a panel of three judges in the Indonesian
capital, but that no dat! e has been set.
"Hopefully we will be notified next week," he said.
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