Forgiveness shown to killers of Indonesian schoolgirls

Three Muslims recently convicted in Indonesia for beheading three teenage Christian girls have been forgiven by the families of their victims.

The girls were attacked on 29 October 2005 when they were walking to school. They were beheaded and their heads were left in plastic bags outside a church along with notes vowing to murder more Christian teenagers.

The murderers were recently given sentences ranging from 10 to 19 years.

According to Paul Estabrooks, a minister with Open Doors International, the families of the victims have forgiven the murderers despite the lightness of the sentences.

Estabrooks says that a fourth victim who survived despite being slashed also forgives the killers. According to One News Now, Estabrooks said, "Her name is Noviana, and she says in a recent interview we just did with her, 'It's hard to forgive what they did, very hard. The Lord taught us we need to forgive.'"

He continued, "Even now she says, 'I can still feel anger sometimes but it helps me to pray for the killers. I pray that their hearts would be open to God and they'd repent from their sins to never kill again.'"

Estabrooks has encouraged people to pray for Christians in Indonesia especially during the Christmas season when violence against Christians increases.

Indonesia has been the scene of increasing violence between Christians and Muslims since the late 1990s.