A man and a woman were publicly flogged 100 times each in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province after being found guilty of engaging in sexual relations outside of marriage, under the region’s strict Islamic legal system.
The punishment, carried out in the provincial capital Banda Aceh, saw the pair whipped in sets of ten lashes each using a rattan cane, while a small crowd looked on in a public park.
In the same event, three other individuals received a total of 49 lashes for unrelated offences involving gambling and alcohol consumption, also prohibited under Aceh’s version of sharia law.
“Today we are carrying out flogging punishment for perpetrators of adultery, alcohol consumption, and online gambling,” said Banda Aceh Mayor Illiza Sa’aduddin Djamal, who was present at the scene.
“This becomes a moral lesson for the community at large. This flogging punishment becomes a gateway to repentance for them,” he added.
Aceh is the only region in Indonesia permitted to enforce sharia law, a concession granted by the central government in 2001 as part of a peace agreement to quell a long-standing separatist insurgency.
Under these laws, consensual sexual activity between unmarried individuals is criminalised, along with behaviours such as drinking and gambling.
Despite international condemnation from human rights groups, who have described the punishment as cruel and inhumane, public caning continues to enjoy widespread support among Aceh’s population, where it is seen as a religiously justified deterrent.
Earlier this year, in February, two men were publicly flogged more than 150 times after they were convicted of engaging in same-sex relations, another act criminalised under Aceh’s sharia-based laws.
