As we reported late last year, Tibo, Dasilva and Riwu were
arrested in connection with murders that took place during the
religious conflict in Poso in May 2000. During the trial, the court
refused to hear exculpatory testimony from thirteen different
eyewitnesses who claimed that the three men were not involved
in the killings. Furthermore, in a report released after the men
were sentenced, Irwanto Hasan, who was a member of the Poso
Police Intelligence Division in May 2000, declared not only that
the defendants were innocent of murder but that Tibo had
actually saved him from being killed by a militant Christian
group. (Read Irwanto Hasan's report.) A number of Indonesian
human rights groups took up the cause of the three men, as did
several Members of the US Congress, who wrote to President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, appealing for clemency. Many of you also responded to
our appeal last December by writing letters to President Susilo. See the original story on the Jubilee Campaign web site.
Unfortunately, many Members of the Indonesian Parliament,
including some Christian Members, have publicly stated that
they believe Tibo, Dasilva and Riwu to be guilty. Based on the
information we have received, we disagree. At the very least,
there were enough irregularities about the trial, including the
suppressed testimony mentioned above, to warrant delaying the
execution long enough to conduct a complete reappraisal of the
evidence. To do less would be a gross miscarriage of justice,
especially considering that several recent attacks on Christians
have gone unpunished. It was reported last week that one man
has been arrested in connection with the beheading of three
Christian girls in Central Sulawesi last October, but in a number
of other incidents, including the shooting of two teenage girls and the bombing of a
Christian market in Palu on New Year's Eve that left eight people dead and more than
fifty injured, no one has been brought to justice. To proceed with the execution of the
three Christian men under these circumstances would be demoralizing to the
Christian community in Central Sulawesi. We join the persecuted Christian minority of
Indonesia in crying out for true justice.
While we continue to pursue all the legal and political avenues
at our disposal to stop the execution and reopen the case of the
three condemned men, we recognize that purely human
solutions will not ultimately be effective. And so we call on God
to bring an end to the unjust treatment of Christians in
Indonesia. We pray for the lives of Tibo, Dasilva, Riwu and all
others who have been caught in the grinding gears of what
passes for the criminal justice system in Indonesia. We pray for
God to encourage, strengthen and comfort the entire Christian
community of Central Sulawesi. We pray for the coming of
God's reign and the defeat of the powers and authorities that
stand in the way of the fulfillment and renewal promised to all
God's children.
As we reported late last year, Tibo, Dasilva and Riwu were
arrested in connection with murders that took place during the
religious conflict in Poso in May 2000. During the trial, the court
refused to hear exculpatory testimony from thirteen different
eyewitnesses who claimed that the three men were not involved
in the killings. Furthermore, in a report released after the men
were sentenced, Irwanto Hasan, who was a member of the Poso
Police Intelligence Division in May 2000, declared not only that
the defendants were innocent of murder but that Tibo had
actually saved him from being killed by a militant Christian
group. (
Unfortunately, many Members of the Indonesian Parliament,
including some Christian Members, have publicly stated that
they believe Tibo, Dasilva and Riwu to be guilty. Based on the
information we have received, we disagree. At the very least,
there were enough irregularities about the trial, including the
suppressed testimony mentioned above, to warrant delaying the
execution long enough to conduct a complete reappraisal of the
evidence. To do less would be a gross miscarriage of justice,
especially considering that several recent attacks on Christians
have gone unpunished. It was reported last week that one man
has been arrested in connection with the beheading of three
Christian girls in Central Sulawesi last October, but in a number
of other incidents, including the shooting of two teenage girls and the bombing of a
Christian market in Palu on New Year's Eve that left eight people dead and more than
fifty injured, no one has been brought to justice. To proceed with the execution of the
three Christian men under these circumstances would be demoralizing to the
Christian community in Central Sulawesi. We join the persecuted Christian minority of
Indonesia in crying out for true justice. 
While we continue to pursue all the legal and political avenues
at our disposal to stop the execution and reopen the case of the
three condemned men, we recognize that purely human
solutions will not ultimately be effective. And so we call on God
to bring an end to the unjust treatment of Christians in
Indonesia. We pray for the lives of Tibo, Dasilva, Riwu and all
others who have been caught in the grinding gears of what
passes for the criminal justice system in Indonesia. We pray for
God to encourage, strengthen and comfort the entire Christian
community of Central Sulawesi. We pray for the coming of
God's reign and the defeat of the powers and authorities that
stand in the way of the fulfillment and renewal promised to all
God's children.