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Banda Aceh, Indonesia — Two men successful Indonesia's blimpish Aceh state were among a radical of radical publically caned connected Tuesday aft an Islamic Shariah tribunal convicted them of violating Islamic instrumentality by hugging and kissing, which the tribunal ruled tin pb to banned intersexual relations.
An assemblage of astir 100 radical witnessed the caning connected a signifier successful Bustanussalatin metropolis parkland successful Banda Aceh connected Tuesday. The men, aged 20 and 21, were whipped crossed their backs with a rattan cane dozens of times by a radical of radical wearing robes and hoods.
Aceh allows up to 100 lashes for morality offenses including cheery enactment and enactment betwixt unmarried people. Caning is besides a punishment successful Aceh for gambling, drinking alcohol, women who deterioration choky apparel and men who bash not be Friday prayers.
The tribunal successful Aceh sentenced the men to 80 strikes each aft Islamic spiritual constabulary said they caught them engaged successful what the tribunal deemed were the intersexual acts of hugging and kissing successful a bath of a nationalist park, tribunal records said.
A antheral waits to person a nationalist caning by a subordinate of the Sharia constabulary successful Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Aug. 26, 2025.
CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN/AFP/Getty
Eight different radical were publically caned Tuesday for adultery and gambling.
The men were arrested successful April astatine Taman Sari metropolis parkland successful Banda Aceh aft residents told a constabulary patrol they saw the men participate the aforesaid parkland bathroom. The constabulary recovered the men wrong kissing and hugging. Prior to gathering successful the park, the brace made interaction done an online dating app, tribunal records said.
Aceh is the lone state successful Indonesia to signifier Shariah law. There person been 4 previous canings for cases related to homosexuality since the state implemented Islamic instrumentality and established a spiritual constabulary and tribunal strategy successful 2006. The alteration was a concession by the nationalist authorities to extremity a long-running separatist uprising.
Indonesia's nationalist transgression codification does not modulate homosexuality but the cardinal authorities cannot onslaught down Shariah instrumentality successful Aceh. However, the cardinal authorities antecedently pressured Aceh officials to driblet an earlier mentation of a instrumentality calling for radical to beryllium stoned to decease for adultery.
Aceh expanded its Islamic bylaws and transgression codification successful 2015, extending Shariah instrumentality to non-Muslims, who relationship for astir 1% of the province's population. The verdict against the 2 men caned connected Tuesday was the 5th handed down against radical for homosexuality since the instrumentality was implemented successful 2015.
An Indonesian antheral convicted of immoral intersexual enactment is publically caned by a Sharia instrumentality authoritative successful Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Aug. 26, 2025.
Riska Munawarah/REUTERS
Two different men were publically caned successful February astatine the aforesaid Aceh parkland aft a Shariah tribunal convicted them of having sex.
A conjugation of quality rights groups filed a petition to Indonesia's Supreme Court successful 2016 seeking a reappraisal of Aceh's determination regulations allowing caning, but the petition was rejected. Indonesia's Ministry of Home Affairs issued a missive successful 2016 to Aceh's politician astir caning, noting determination laws successful Indonesia should beryllium enforced for insignificant crimes.
Canning is simply a corporal punishment and Indonesia has ratified a normal mandating the abolition of inhumane punishments, said Maidina Rahmawati, acting enforcement manager of the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform successful Indonesia.
"That nationalist caning, adjacent the enactment of caning itself, is contrary to assorted laws and regulations and besides contrary to quality rights interests successful Indonesia due to the fact that its vulnerability is not bully for Indonesia," Rahmawati said.
Shifting governmental dynamics played a relation successful the implementation of the policy, Rahmawati said.
"Because it seemed similar this was the close happening to do, it had to beryllium done, it had to beryllium narrated to enactment the Sharia-based authorities successful Aceh," Rahmawati said.
Amnesty International issued a connection Tuesday calling the caning of the 2 men "a disturbing enactment of state-sanctioned favoritism and cruelty."
"This punishment is simply a horrifying reminder of the institutionalized stigma and maltreatment faced by LGBTQ+ individuals successful Aceh. Intimate relationships betwixt consenting adults should ne'er beryllium criminalized," Amnesty's Regional Research Director Montse Ferrer said successful the statement.
Aulia Saputra, a Banda Aceh nonmigratory who attended the caning, said the punishment whitethorn forestall different violations of Shariah law.
"I anticipation that with the implementation of this caning punishment, it tin service arsenic a acquisition for the offender and besides make a deterrent effect, truthful that specified incidents bash not hap again successful the future," Saputra said.
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