Indonesian police appear to have made a breakthrough in the infamous and appalling case of the beheading murders of three Christian schoolgirls in Poso, Sulawesi last year.

Police are reported [1] to have captured two men, Taufik alias Opik, whose attempted arrest previously had turned into a debacle, and one Hasanudin. Both men are thought to have been involved in the grisly murders of the girls as they walked to school in October 2005, as well as in the murder of Helmy Tobiling, a soldier’s wife, in July 2004. [2]

Taufik alias Opik was arrested in Poso, while Hasanudin was picked up in nearby Palu, central Sulawesi.

Additionally the five men arrested a few days ago are also suspected of involvement in the crimes, and another crime, the murder of a Hindu man, I Wayan Sumaryase.

The results of the police investigation show enough evidence against them [the seven men] in the cases of the murder of Helmy and the murders of the three Poso high school students.
(Hasil penyidikan Polri sudah cukup bukti terhadap mereka atas kasus pembunuhan Helmy dan mutilasi tiga siswi SMU Poso.)

said Makbul Padmanagara of the police.

He also admitted the difficulties faced by police in investigating cases such as these, ie cases that were associated with sectarian issues:

Every potential witness is afraid of being killed. So they don’t want to talk. That’s one factor why there are so many cases in Poso that haven’t been settled.
(Setiap saksi yang akan melapor ketakutan dibunuh. Jadi mereka tidak mau ngomong. Itu salah satu fakta, kenapa sejumlah kasus di Poso belum terungkap.)

He also pledged to be firm and fair in the pursuit of sectarian related murder cases.

We don’t look to see whether the criminal is a policeman or not, whoever it is will be dealt with by the law.
(Kita tidak melihat apakah pelaku itu anggota polisi atau bukan, siapa pun akan diproses secara hukum.)

He then made a plea to Poso residents not to be provoked into conflict over reasons of religious affiliation.

There are people who keep trying to dress up violence in Poso with religion.
(Karena ada orang yang coba-coba mengemas aksi kerusuhan Poso dengan agama.)

Assuming he is entirely sincere - if Indonesia is to survive as a united country it is going to rely on men such as Makbul Padmanagara.

10th May

The Jakarta Post says that the seven men have confessed to beheading the three Christian schoolgirls, police said today.

The seven detained suspects confessed under questioning that they planned and carried out the Oct. 29 beheadings in the Central Sulawesi town of Poso, police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Rudi Sufahriadi said.

Two of the suspects also say they have ties to Noordin Top, regarded as a key leader of the al-Qaeda-linked group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), according to Central Sulawesi police chief Brigadier General Oegroseno.

November 8th

The trial of Hasanuddin has begun. Prosecutors alleged that Hasanuddin wanted to avenge the deaths of Muslims by Christian mobs during sectarian fighting between 1999 and 2002 and left a handwritten note with the girls’ heads vowing more beheadings, on which was written:

We still need another 100 heads.

Hasanuddin [3]

Hasanuddin is alleged to have been the ringleader of the attack, and, while he was present during it he did not actually wield a machete himself. Prosecutors allege that he gave money to the other attackers to buy machetes and plastic bags to put the girls heads in. The heads were later dumped close to a church and police station. [4]

Two other men are also being tried separately, Lilik Purnomo alias Haris and Irwanto Irano. Meanwhile three other suspects in the case have yet to be captured, they being Papa Yusran alias Isran, Agus Jenggot, and Basri. [5]

A more complete account of the trial is here.

A UK television report on the beheadings.