Ulma Haryanto – Three widows are anxiously waiting for Tuesday. After 18 exhausting hearings, Soetarti Soekarno, Rusmini and Timoria Manurung, all in their 70s, will on Tuesday hear whether the East Jakarta District Court will declare them illegal squatters in their own homes.

"Lately I keep thinking about what would it feel like, you know, being labeled a criminal in court," Timoria, 73, told the Jakarta Globe on Friday.

The case has baffled city residents as the elderly widows have been taken to court and interrogated by judges and prosecutors in a dispute over housing. "I think about my grandchildren. They're going to remember their grandmother as a criminal," Timoria said.

The three widows face up to two months in prison and four months of probation if they are found guilty of occupying their houses without the consent of state pawnshop company PT Perum Pegadaian, the properties' legally recognized owner.

Sambodo Agung Nugroho, the son of 78-year-old Soetarti, said that he was more worried about his mother's reputation than the prison sentence she may have to serve out. "Our concern here is that our mothers could end up being convicted and called criminals. That's not fair," he said.

Pegadaian wants to raze the women's homes and construct townhouses for its high-ranking officials. The women have attempted to take advantage of a government subsidy and buy back the homes they have lived in for decades.

A 1994 law stipulates petitioners can apply to buy the company-issued homes they live in, provided they can pay for half of the house in installments over a five- to 20-year period.

The widows were encouraged by earlier cases in which residents were able to buy back their company-issued homes. However, the three women's requests have been turned down.

Rusmini, 78, said that all three women had been blessed with an outpouring of support since their trial began in March. So far, 16,000 members have shown their support on a page dedicated to the women on the social networking Web site Facebook.

Members of a string of organizations – from Laskar Merah Putih (Red and White Troops) to human rights groups – have also attended the hearings in the women's trials in a show of solidarity for their cause.

The women and their families have been living on Jalan Cipinang Jaya since 1979. Their husbands all worked for Pegadaian.

Soetarti is currently living with her son Sambodo, while Rusmini lives with her youngest daughter.

Rusmini's late husband, Achmad Kuseini, and Soetarti's late husband, Soekarno, both fought in the country's war for independence and were decorated national heroes. Both are buried at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in South Jakarta.

"After serving the country, our husbands chose to live as ordinary civil servants. The old Pegadaian was different. Now it's more profit-oriented, the directors are enjoying big salaries," Rusmini said.

"They ignore their seniors. They don't know about history. Now all they want is to take advantage as much as they can."

Rusmini also said that none of the officials from had Pergadaian ever visited them.

"The finance director lives just around the corner. Living here used to be like a big family, but not anymore," Soetarti lamented. The widows' legal representative, Kiagus Ahmad from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta), said that Pegadaian had lied to the women.

"In 1994, they tried to apply for the right to buy their houses, which was allowed [under the law]," he said. "Their request was denied at the time by the company, which said the houses were needed for other employees."

When prosecutors presented a witness from the company, human resources director Sumanto Hadi, he revealed that the company was planning to raze the women's houses to make room for managers' townhouses.

"The women's requests to buy their houses were still under consideration in the Supreme Court, but apparently the company sued them before the ruling came out," Kiagus said.

Along with the three women, another resident, Soegita, 81, was indicted in the same case.

"When the police first came with their summons in March 2009, it was for the four of them. But Soegita was considered too ill to stand trial," Sambodo said.

The old man, who lives a few houses down from Soetarti, is paralyzed. He served with Soetarti and Rusmini's husbands in the country's independence struggle and was also honored with a service medal.

During the Globe's visit, Soegita was alone at his home. His oldest son was away for Friday prayers and his nearly blind wife was asleep.

"If my mother is convicted, then what happens to [Soegita]? When he dies, will he be buried as a criminal, or a national hero?" Sambodo asked.

He added that if the court ruled against Rusmini and Soetarti, the families would request that their husbands' remains be exhumed and buried in a public cemetery.

"We would also like to return all the awards and certificates from the state that were granted to our parents," Sambodo said.