Court wrong to reject plea: Lawyers for death row convicts
Yemris Fointuna and Ruslan Sangaji, The Jakarta Post, Palu/Kupang, August 24, 2006

Lawyers for three Christians on death row said Wednesday the Supreme Court had exceeded its authority by refusing to process their second request for clemency.
Lawyer Roy Rening said that the local district court in Palu, Central Sulawesi, had informed the team of lawyers that the Supreme Court declined to forward a second request for clemency.
"The Supreme Court has certainly overstepped its authority and we will prepare legal moves against this," Rening told AFP.
He did not give further details, but said that the Supreme Court's duty was only to give recommendations to the President on a request for clemency, not to hinder it.
"The court should only forward the demand along with its recommendation. Only the President has the authority to decide whether or not to grant clemency," Rening said.
The three -- Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da Silva and Marianus Riwu -- were convicted in 2001 of inciting violence against Muslims in religiously divided Central Sulawesi, but their case has been widely criticized for being unfair.
The President had already rejected their plea for clemency and they were due to face the firing squad on Aug. 12 before they were given a last minute reprieve. Officials have said their executions could now take place any time.
In a related development, dozens of protesters from several Muslim groups staged a protest Wednesday urging officials in Palu to execute the trio immediately.
The protesters also urged the authorities to arrest Reverend Reynaldi Damanik, head of the Protestant church synod in Central Sulawesi, for allegedly making statements that could fuel further unrest in the region.
They blasted both the police chief and local prosecutor's office for the delay in the implementation of the execution.
Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Oegroseno said that many factors had to be taken into consideration in relation to the execution of the trio. He admitted he was still coordinating with representatives of the prosecutor's office on the implementation of the execution.
Meanwhile in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, dozens of students, human rights activists and religious figures have staged rallies over the last week, opposing the planned execution.
The peaceful rallies were marked with the closure of major roads in front of the East Nusa Tenggara Legislative Council and Prosecutor's Office.
The protesters urged the institutions to consider new evidence disclosed by the three convicts and not to rely merely on legal procedures.
"The new evidence shows that the trio were not the main players in the conflicts. They are just the casualties of a political contest," Ambros, one of the protesters, said.
A similar reaction was aired by Maumere Bishop Mgr. Vincentius Sensi Potokoa, who said that Catholic leaders would raise their objection to the execution at a meeting of Nusa Tenggara bishops to be held in Denpasar, Bali, this week.
In Ende over 100 religious figures, representatives of non-governmental organizations and human rights activists wrote a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, urging him to commute the sentence to life.