Two couples were caned after allegedly having sex outside of marriage, breaking strict gender relations laws in Indonesia’s most conservative region.
Aceh province is the only region that practices sharia law in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, and the only region where floggings take place.
Horrific images show brutal punishments of up to 20 lashes inflicted by members of the Sharia police, known as the Wilayatul Hisbah.
The women are seen kneeling with their heads bowed and the men standing as they are beaten.
Later, more disturbing footage showed a man’s injuries after being beaten, with authorities inspecting his bleeding and scarred back.
Acehnese couples receive a religious lecture before being punished by caning in front of the public for violating Sharia law, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia
A member of the Sharia police beats a woman after she was allegedly caught near a man, contrary to the region’s strict laws.
An Acehnese man stands firm on a blue carpet as he receives a caning.
Doctors inspect man’s back after he was whipped
People are seen taking photos of the beating, which allegedly took place in public.
The victims also underwent medical examinations before the shots were administered, with doctors checking the men’s blood pressure.
Tightened laws were introduced by the Aceh government last year in a bid to “reduce sin” by separating opposite sexes.
Men and women who are neither related nor married are prohibited from being in close proximity in public places or in vehicles.
Lawmakers said the strengthened legislation aims to “shape a generation of people who faithfully uphold Islamic values in their daily lives,” he said.
“Men and women who are neither married nor related may not sit together in public places, secluded places or in vehicles,” according to the official statement.
As part of the crackdown on social activities, authorities also ordered the province’s 24-hour cafes to close at midnight, limiting the region’s most popular source of entertainment.
The mayor of Banda Aceh, the region’s capital, warned that he would deploy sharia police to ensure compliance with the new rules.
Aceh man undergoes medical examination before being punished for violating Sharia law.
A man (in white) is beaten by a member of the Sharia police as punishment for being arrested near a woman in Banda Aceh
A Sharia police officer distributes a rattan used for punitive purposes in Indonesia’s Aceh province
Aceh woman caned in front of public for violating Sharia law
A man’s back injuries are examined by a doctor after he received up to 20 lashes for breaking Sharia law
Offenses punishable by caning would include intimacy or sexual activity for unmarried couples, sex outside marriage, same-sex sexual relations, sale and consumption of alcohol and gambling.
In Aceh, floggings have long been a public spectacle held in outdoor spaces, with police and the public often filming the punishments to add to the humiliation they intend to inflict on those subjected to them.
For years, human rights activists have called for an end to the “inhumane and degrading form of punishment” of caning, urging the Indonesian government to take action.
For years, floggings were a public spectacle in outdoor spaces, but many now take place indoors.
Two of the alleged violators of religious laws are handcuffed together as they are escorted by the prosecutor until their punishment.
Doctors examine a woman after she was beaten as punishment for breaking strict gender relations laws.
Amnesty International Indonesia investigations found that Aceh authorities carried out at least 60 public floggings against 254 people in 2020.
In 2019, reports emerged that a woman and a man lost consciousness after being whipped in separate public punishments on the same day.
In 2021, two men accused of homosexual “offenses” were each beaten 77 times in front of a crowd of 100 people.
Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia, said at the time: “No one deserves to be brutalized and humiliated in this way…Flogging constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and may amount to torture.”
“We strongly urge the authorities in Aceh and the central government to take immediate action to stop these cruel practices and repeal the regulations that permit them.”
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