2 men publicly caned for having sex by religious police in Indonesia

Banda Aceh, Indonesia — Two men in Indonesia's conservative Aceh province were publicly caned 77 times each on Thursday after neighbors reported them to Islamic religious police for having sex. Dozens of people witnessed the caning at Banda Aceh's Tamansari city park.

A man accused of having gay sex is publicly caned by a member of the Sharia police in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, January 28, 2021. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN/AFP/Getty

It's the third time that Aceh, the only province in Indonesia to practice Shariah law, has caned people for homosexuality since the Islamic law was implemented in 2015 as a concession made by the government to end a long-running separatist rebellion.
 
The men, aged 27 and 29, were whipped across the back and winced with pain as a team of five enforcers wearing robes and hoods took turns, relieving one another after every 40 strokes.

A man accused of having gay sex is publicly caned by a member of the Sharia police in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, January 28, 2021. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN/AFP/Getty

The men were arrested in November after residents became suspicious and broke into their rented room where they were caught having sex, said Heru Triwijanarko, Aceh's acting Sharia police chief.
 
A Shariah court last month sentenced each man to 80 strokes, but they were caned 77 times after a remission for time spent in prison.
 
Four other people received 17 strokes for extra-marital relations and 40 strokes for drinking alcohol.

Indonesian court sentences gay couple to public caning

A Shariah code allows up to 100 lashes for morality offenses including gay sex. Caning is also punishment for adultery, gambling, drinking and for women who wear tight clothes and men who skip Friday prayers.
 
With the exception of Aceh, homosexuality is not illegal in Indonesia, but the country's low-profile LGBT community has been under siege in the past years.

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