The Christian community in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, has welcomed the sentencing of three Islamist militants for the beheading of three Christian schoolgirls, but now fears a growing disparity between the sentencing of Christians and Muslims, Christian Today has been told.

The three Islamist militants were sentenced last month for the beheading of three Christian schoolgirls in October 2005. Hasanuddin was sentenced for 20 years imprisonment for masterminding the attack, and his accomplices, Lilik Purnomo and Irwanto Irano, were sentenced to 14 years each.

While the Christian community in the area welcomes the verdict, they are concerned that this and a recent crackdown on militants in the area will result in the authorities imposing harsher penalties on Christians in an attempt to be seen to treat both communities equally, Christian Solidarity Worldwide has warned.

This would particularly impact twelve young Christian men from Poso, Central Sulawesi, who are currently standing trial accused of terrorist activities, and are facing a possible death penalty. They were arrested for the murder of two Muslim men during the demonstrations following the execution of three Catholic Christians in September last year.

There are now concerns that these twelve men have been charged under both the anti-terrorism law and the criminal law despite an apparent lack of evidence to sustain the terrorism charges. It is seen as an attempt by authorities to demonstrate that they are not singling out the Muslim community as the only perpetrators of terrorism, CSW says.

National and international human rights organisations are following the case of the twelve Christian men closely.

Around twenty Islamist militants have been arrested or killed in the last three months in an ongoing security operation in Central Sulawesi. The crackdown follows attacks including bombings, targeted killings of Christian leaders and killings of eyewitnesses to the attacks and the judiciary, CSW has said.

While Christian leaders in Sulawesi welcome the action finally being taken by authorities against some of the key figures behind the terrorisation of Christians, they also fear a backlash against the Christian community.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide's Chief Executive, Mervyn Thomas, said: "We are pleased that justice has finally prevailed following the brutal attack on the three schoolgirls in 2005. However, the pattern of violence continues in Indonesia.

"We urge both the Christian and Muslim communities to work with the authorities in Central Sulawesi to put an end to this cycle of attacks once and for all.

"We also ask the authorities to ensure that minorities are treated fairly and equally by the judiciary. We shall be following closely the progress of the trial."