Supporters of the three condemned bombers say they are 'holy warriors' [AFP]

The twin bomb attacks on the island in October 2002 killed 202 people, many of them foreign tourists.

Barring a last minute change by the authorities, the executions will be carried out early on Friday morning at a prison island off the coast of Java.

The executions are a highly sensitive issue in Indonesia, with supporters of the men vowing to carry out revenge attacks if they are put to death.

Indonesian police have stepped up security across the country amid fears that the execution could spark fresh bombings.

On the island of Bali, police bomb squads have conducted thorough searches around the site of the bomb memorial and elsewhere in Kuta, one of the island's main tourist areas and scene of the attack.

On Thursday a group of about 100 protesters marched through the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, chanting slogans condemning the executions and praising the bombers as "holy warriors".

'Martyrs'

The three bombers will be executed by firing squad

Lawyers for the bombers say the families of the three men have written to the Indonesian president pleading for a delay in the executions.

However, they added the letter was not a request for clemency.

The three bombers - Amrozi, 47, his brother Mukhlas, 48, and Imam Samudra, 38 - have said they want to die to become "martyrs".

On the island of Java in the home village of Imam Samudra, friends and relatives of the man said to have been the field commander for the 2002 atttack are preparing to give him a hero's funeral.

"We are very proud of him, also my mother is proud," Jamaluddin, a brother of the condemned bomber, said.

He said relatives of Imam Samudra are preparing for a hero's funeral as soon as the body will arrive.

Scars

The execution of the three men has been planned and then postponed on several occasions, triggering outcry from many of the relatives of victims of the bombings.

But for many of those still carrying the scars of the 2002 attacks, like 32-year-old Tumini, the carrying out of the death sentences will bring little comfort.

Tumini was badly burned in the attack and says that while the executions will not make the trauma of that night disappear, it may help dissuade others from carrying out attacks in the future.

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