Bali bombers want beheading

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Lawyers for three Islamic militants on death row for the 2002 Bali bombings lodged a legal challenge on Wednesday over Indonesia's method of executing convicts by firing squad, calling it inhumane.

The three men -- Imam Samudra, Amrozi and Mukhlas, also known as Ali Gufron -- face a firing squad for their roles in the nightclub bombings on the island of Bali that killed 202 people.

"We believe that execution by way of a gunfire is inhumane. It is for these reasons that the defence attorneys are applying to challenge the legislation," said lawyer Wirawan Adnan, adding that a judicial review had been lodged at the Constitutional Court.

A Bali court initially sentenced the three men to death in 2003, but their lawyers have used a number of legal avenues that have delayed the executions.

"It's not a matter for us whether or not Amrozi is to be executed. Gunfire is one way, another way of doing it is by lethal injection," Adnan said, adding that it could take more than a minute for a convict to bleed to death after being shot.

The three men would prefer an Islamic method of execution by beheading, Adnan added.

"We believe that is still more humane than by a gunfire," said the lawyer.

Jimly Asshiddiqie, chief of the Constitutional Court, told reporters last week that the court would ask prosecutors to postpone the execution process if the review was filed as it usually takes about three months to reach a final decision.

But Minister of Justice and Human Rights Andi Matalatta said on Wednesday the petition to the Constitutional Court would not delay execution proceedings.