Supreme Court turns down second pardon application by Tibo and fellow prisoners
Palu (AsiaNews) Indonesia's Supreme Court has rejected a second application for pardon made by three Catholics sentenced to death in Palu (Central Sulawesi). In their view, the appeal is contrary to Law N° 22/2002 on pardons. Upon hearing the ruling, the defence attorneys for Fabianus Tibo, Domingus "Domi" da Silva and Marinus Riwu vowed to challenge the court's decision, saying that the judges acted outside of their jurisdiction since the Supreme Court does not have the power to rule on the presidential prerogative of pardon. In the meantime, the General Attorney's Office continues to prepare for the execution of Tibo and his fellow prisoners.
Harris Hutabarat, a lawyer from the Service Advocacy for Justice and Peace or PADMA,a group handling the three men's defence, said that "the task of the Supreme Court is to submit the request to the president who may accept it or reject it." In his opinion, if the Supreme Court breaks the law, it means that it intends to confiscate the civil rights of the citizen sentenced to death and kill him.
In this situation President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has maintained his silence, but the number of people calling for the death sentence to be overturned is growing. Many are worried that the authorities plan to execute the three Christians at the same time with three Bali terrorists whose case was reopened a few days ago.
Last night at least 1,500 people took part in a peaceful march in Poso. Last Friday some 10,000 people took to the streets Poso and Morowali.
The Indonesian Bishops' Conference joined the fray sending a letter to the president in which it condemns the killing of "any Indonesian citizen".
Today, officials from the Catholic Society Forum of the archdiose of Manada are expected to meet Hidayat Nur Wahid, speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly, Indonesia's parliament. The delegation received the pastoral blessing of the bishop of Manada, Mgr Joseph Suwatan. It should also meet the head of the National Police, General Sutanto.
In Jakarta it was confirmed that the "execution of the three men is being prepared," but no further details were made available. "It all depends on the local police and prosecutor," said Abdul Hakim Ritonga, an official with the Attorney General's Office.
Amid the delays and postponements, more and more people coming to the conclusion that the fate of the three Catholics is tied to that of Amrozi, Muhklas and Imam Samudra, who were found guilty in the 2002 bombings in Bali which killed 202 people.
The terrorists were scheduled to die yesteday, but their case was reopened. According to Mudji Sutrisno, SJ, a well-known editorial writer in Jakarta, the Attorney General's Office, i.e. the government, might be planning a concurrent execution, linking two completely different cases. But "this," he said, "is a political plot, not a legal case."
.png)
