Jakarta – Lawyers, seeking a stay of execution for three Christian men on death row convicted for their roles in Poso's religious violence five years ago, say they have new evidence pointing to security officers' involvement in the conflict.
Together with relatives of the convicts, the lawyers submitted a list to the National Police headquarters on Wednesday of 16 people they said were key instigators of the Muslim-Christian violence that broke out in May 2000.
The lawyers grouped in the Indonesian Advocacy Service for Justice and Peace said the documents suggested military and police personnel had provided arms to both sides to fan the conflict.
"We have documents indicating that law enforces might be connected to the conflict," said Roy Rening, one of the lawyers. The papers had been submitted to the police, he said.
The three convicts on the death row are Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus Da Silva, and Marinus Riwu. Among the delegates were Tibo's son, Robert Tibo; Marinus' wife Yasinta Goong; and Dominggus' stepfather, Adam Ata.
"We hope a thorough investigation by the police can reveal the real perpetrators who masterminded the killings in the region," Roy said.
Poso is a town equally divided between Christians and Muslims. In 2000 and 2001, the province became the scene of battles between two sectarian groups, leaving about 1,000 people dead.
On July 25 of that year, the police arrested Tibo, Da Silva and Riwu, all Christians. The Poso District Court found them guilty of leading an attack on a Muslim village and sentenced them to death in 2001.
The Supreme Court denied the convicts' an appeal after they requested it in 2001. The President also denied their request for clemency in November last year.
Activists and religious leaders have urged the authorities to conduct a further investigation into the violence and requested a stay of executions for the three men.
Recently, the Humanitarian Team for the Poso Conflict called for the Attorney General's Office to delay the execution, saying it was possible the three men did not lead the attack.
Roy said the 16 men on the lawyers' list belonged to the militant Christian "Red Group" led by Janis Simangunsong and Paulus Tungkanan.
"(Da Silva and Riwu) were just ordinary people who met Tibo and asked him to go along with them to Poso. Tibo and his friends went to Poso because Janis had informed him that an orphanage in Poso would be attacked," Roy said.
Roy said he had three bundles of testimony documents from residents supporting the convicts' alibi and role in the attack. "With this, we hope that the authorities would delay the execution because there are key witnesses in this case," said Roy.
National Police spokesmen Brig. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said that the police would follow up the report with an investigation. "But it will take time because we have to gather evidence before we can name suspects," Anton said. "However, if security personnel are proven to be involved in this case, we will still take action against them."