The men were accused of inciting violence between Muslims and Christians in 2000 that led to the deaths of some 1,000 people in the Poso port region of Sulawesi island.

According to an earlier news release from ICC, Fabianus Tibo, Marianus Riwu and Dominggus da Silva admitted their role in the violence, but were the only three persons charged in a five-year-long conflict between Muslims and Christians on the island nation.

All three were convicted and sentenced to die Aug. 12 by firing squad, but the Vatican, ICC and other human rights organizations and the European Union protested the convictions. ICC, for example, targeted inequities in the Indonesian justice system between Muslims and Christians.

Attorney General Mohammad Yahya Sibe stayed the executions in August because of the international pressure, but he and the area police chief both were relieved of their duties after the decision. Tibo, Riwu and da Silva recently appealed their conviction and sentencing once more, but that appeal, which should have taken months to process, has fallen on deaf ears.

ICC spokesman Jeremy Sewell said the three Catholics are being sent to their deaths to placate radical Muslims in Indonesia who are upset over the conviction and scheduled execution of three Islamic militants in connection with the Bali bombings in October 2002. In all, the bombing claimed 202 lives and injured another 209 people from 22 different countries. Jemaah Islamiyah, a radical group with ties to al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack that killed seven Americans.