Release International

Supporters of three Indonesian Christians on death row have launched a last-ditch attempt to save them from execution, claiming they are being made 'scapegoats' to appease militants.

Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da Silva and Marinus Riwu were charged with inciting violence during the sectarian clashes in Central Sulawesi in 2000, and were jailed in 2001.

The three have always protested their innocence of the charges -- and have attracted an international group of campaigners to their cause, including some prominent Muslims.

The men's involvement in the 2000 clashes remains unclear. Sources suggest that the three Christians were caught up in the fighting as they defended Christian villages -- but that they were not guilty of instigating violence.

The issue at stake, says Jeff Hammond, director of Bless Indonesia Today in Jakarta, is that they are being 'scapegoated' to promote a political agenda. He claims that the Indonesian government is pushing ahead with the execution to 'placate Poso militants' protesting against the arrests of some of their leaders, and 'as a balance' to the planned executions of the Bali bombers.

Mr Hammond says: 'I was in Palu during part of the trial and the mob's threats even included exploding a bomb in Palu police headquarters as a warning of what could happen if the three were not convicted. No fair trial was possible.'

The execution was originally set for last month but was delayed after 'important papers' were reported missing. Buoyed by the news, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Jakarta to demand a retrial.

Their optimism may yet prove ill-founded. As recently as April 5, the Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh repeated the assertion that the three men would be executed. The site for their execution by firing squad -- a remote area on the outskirts of Palu -- has already been decided.

• Pray for Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da Silva and Marinus Riwu, as their lives hang in the balance. Pray that justice will be done in their case.
• Pray that the Indonesian government -- and particularly President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono -- would resist pressure from extremist elements bent on gaining political power.

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