PALU (Indonesia), Sept 21: Three Christians convicted of leading a mob that killed Muslims were executed by an Indonesian police firing squad early on Friday amidst tight security in Central Sulawesi province.

Fabianus Tibo, Marianus Riwu and Dominggus Silva were sentenced to death in 2001, after being found guilty of leading a Christian mob in an attack that killed more than 200 people at an Islamic boarding school during Muslim-Christian clashes in Central Sulawesi’s Poso region.

“It has been done ... the location was around the airport”, a police official said. He said the bodies had been taken to a police hospital.

The trio had originally been scheduled to be shot last month in Palu, the capital of the province, but the execution was then postponed at the eleventh hour after demonstrations by thousands of Indonesians and an appeal from Pope Benedict.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had rejected the men’s appeals for a pardon last year. They had asked him a second time for clemency last month.

Hundreds of Christians had been praying for the convicted men at Palu’s Santa Maria church starting from late Thursday night. Police security that was already heavy was increased at the church immediately after the executions, including personnel from paramilitary mobile brigade units.

Ahead of the execution police had blocked roads around the airport.

About 4,000 police and soldiers had been deployed in Palu. —Reuters