Three Islamic militants convicted of the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people will not be executed today because they want to appeal their sentences.

Amrozi Nurhasyim, Ali Gufron and Imam Samudra were among more than 30 people convicted for the October 12 nightclub bombings on the resort island of Bali, which officials say were carried out by the al-Qaida-linked Jamaah Islamiyah terror group.

They confessed to the crime but last month authorized lawyers to file a final appeal, known as a judicial review, averting today's planned execution by firing squad, said I Wayan Pasek Suarta, spokesman for Indonesia's attorney general.

"We have to respect the rights of the convicts because they have informed us that they want to file a final appeal... so the execution cannot be carried out," he said.

The suicide bombings, which killed mostly foreign tourists, have been followed by annual terrorist attacks in the world's most populous Muslim nation, blamed on Jamaah Islamiyah, that have killed another 40 people.

After a second round of bombings on Bali last year the government agreed to speed up the executions of Nurhasyim, Gufron and Samudra amid concerns they still wielded influence over other militants.

But lawyers for the three argued that the anti-terror law used to convict them was applied retroactively.

While the militants have signed a request for a judicial review, they have not yet presented it to the Supreme Court, said lawyer Muhammad Mahendradatta.

They were waiting to hear if a change of venue request for their review trial had been granted, he said, claiming Bali's district court in Denpasar was biased against them.

At the same time, analysts say the timing of the executions may be linked to those of three Christian militants on death row.

They say it would be politically difficult for the government to execute the Bali bombers before putting the Christians before a firing squad.

In the past, the three Bali bombers have said they wanted to die and become martyrs for their cause. None has expressed regret for the attacks.

Samudra, who is said to have co-ordinated the blasts, has defended them in a book as a legitimate part of a holy war against the West.

The stay of execution was yesterday welcomed by the Australian father of one of the bomb attack's victims. Lawyer Brian Deegan, whose son Josh, 21, died in the blasts, wrote to Amnesty International last week requesting that Indonesia spare Nurhasyim, Gufron and Samudra's lives.

"I am happy about the decision because everyone has the same rights as everyone else regardless of the crime so their right to appeal should be respected," said Deegan.

(China Daily August 22, 2006)