On October 30, 2005, three

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

girls: Theresia Morangke (15), Alfita Poliwo (17), and Yarni Sambue (17), were

behead Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

ed by

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

jihadist Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...

s in

Poso Poso ( Old Spelling: ''Posso'') is the administrative capital of Poso Regency, Indonesia. It is the main port and transportation hub for the central-southern coast of Central Sulawesi. Its urban area consists of three districts, Poso Kota, North ...

on the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

n island of

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

, an area plagued by

sectarian Sectarianism is a political or cultural conflict between two groups which are often related to the form of government which they live under. Prejudice, discrimination, or hatred can arise in these conflicts, depending on the political status quo ...

violence since 2001. The attackers planned the beheadings after visiting the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. In 2006, three men were arrested and in 2007 convicted of the crime, one being sentenced to 20 years in prison and the others to 14 years.

Background

Central Sulawesi experienced a lot of Muslim-Christian violence in the late 20th and early 21st century. The most serious violence, the

Poso riots The Poso Riots, also known as Poso Communal Conflict, is a name given to a series of riots that occurred in Poso, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. This incident involved a group of Muslim and Christianity in Indonesia#Sulawesi, Christian in the regio ...

, occurred between 1998 and into 2000. Over 1,000 people were killed in riots, and tens of thousands were expelled from their homes. After a period of relative calm, hostilities were reignited by rumors that a Muslim girl had been

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

d by a Christian man. Thousands of Muslims and Christians were killed during the following year, and more than 60,000 families are reported to have fled their homes in the process. The

Malino Malino may refer to: *Malino, Indonesia, a town in Indonesia * Malino, Russia, name of several inhabited localities in Russia *Malino, Croatia Malino is a village in municipality of Oriovac in the central part of Brod-Posavina County Brod-Posav ...

peace accord A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an agreement to stop hostilities; a ...

was signed in 2001 and produced a dramatic decline in violence, but in the following years, tension and systematic attacks persisted. In 2003, 13 Christians were killed in the Poso District by unknown masked gunmen. In May 2005, a bombing in the nearby town of Tentena, killed 22 people and injured more than 30. Days after the killings, two 17-year-old schoolgirls were shot in the same area. Christian community leaders have repeatedly criticized the authorities for allegedly not doing enough to find the perpetrators of attacks on Christians in Sulawesi.

The attack

The three teenagers were walking to a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Christian school A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures. In some countr ...

Central Sulawesi Central Sulawesi (Indonesian: ''Sulawesi Tengah'') is a province of Indonesia located at the centre of the island of Sulawesi. The administrative capital and largest city is located in Palu. The 2010 census recorded a population of 2,635,009 for ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

with their friend named Noviana Malewa, 15, when they were attacked by a group of six masked men armed with

machete Older machete from Latin America Gerber machete/saw combo Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...

s. The attackers left one of the girls' heads outside a church. A note was left with the severed heads, which were dumped in plastic bags in the girls' village, which stated: "''Wanted: 100 more heads, teenaged or adult, male or female; blood shall be answered with blood, soul with soul, head with head.''" Malewa, the youngest, survived the attack with serious wounds to her neck. The surviving girl was able to describe the attackers to the police. Five suspects, including a former

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...

officer, were arrested and later released for lack of evidence, although three were subsequently re-arrested. The trial of three men, Irwanto Irano, Lilik Purwanto and Hasanuddin began in November 2006. In February 2007,

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

s recommended 20-year jail sentences for all three

defendant In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one jurisdic ...

s. The prosecutors said they were not seeking the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

because the defendants had shown remorse and been forgiven by the victims' families. The sentences were passed on March 21, 2007. Hasanuddin was given 20 years for planning the attack, while two

accomplice Under the English common law, an accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even if they take no part in the actual criminal offense. For example, in a bank robbery, the person who points the gun at the teller ...

s were given 14 years. Hasanuddin had told the court he helped plan the attack, but he denied allegations he masterminded it. On going to jail, Hasanuddin said "It's not a problem (if I am being sentenced to prison) because this is a part of our struggle." Hasanuddin was the leader of the regional Islamic

group

Jemaah Islamiyah Jemaah Islamiyah ( ar, الجماعة الإسلامية, ''al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmiyyah'', meaning "Islamic Congregation", frequently abbreviated JI) is a Southeast Asian militant extremist Islamist terrorist group based in Indonesia, which i ...

(JI) for the Poso district.

References

External links

BBC News: Three Indonesian girls beheaded

Voice of America: 3 Christian Indonesian Schoolgirls Beheaded in Area of Religious Tension

Indonesia Matters: Poso Beheadings Trial

BBC News: Alert after Indonesia beheadings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indonesian Beheadings Of Christian Girls, 2005 2005 beheadings of Christian girls 2000s trials 21st century in Sulawesi Crime in Sulawesi Islam in Central Sulawesi 2005 beheadings of Christian girls Islamic terrorist incidents in 2005 Islamism-related beheadings Jemaah Islamiyah Murder trials October 2005 crimes October 2005 events in Asia 2005 beheadings of Christian girls Beheadings of Christian girls 2005 beheadings of Christian girls 2005 beheadings of Christian girls Sexism in Asia