Jakarta – Three Muslim men have been charged in the beheadings of three Christian girls in an Indonesian province fraught with sectarian tension, and the suspects could face death sentences if convicted, lawyers said Friday.

The three men – Hasanuddin, Lilik Purnomo and Irwanto Irano – are being charged under Indonesia's harsh anti-terrorism law for their roles in the girls' deaths and wounding of a fourth in Central Sulawesi province in 2005, 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 suspects' defense team. The other two men could also be given death sentences if convicted.

Fierce gunbattles between Christians and Muslims from 1998 to 2002 left at least 1,000 people from both faiths dead in the region. 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. The executions went ahead despite appeals for clemency, including an appeal by Pope Benedict XVI.

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. 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 date has been set. "Hopefully we will be notified next week," he said.