Sharia police in Indonesia’s Aceh province on Thursday publicly caned an unmarried couple 140 times each for having sex outside marriage and consuming alcohol, in what is believed to be one of the harshest such punishments since the region adopted Islamic law.
The punishment was carried out in a public park in Banda Aceh, where the man and woman were struck on their backs with a rattan cane as dozens of onlookers watched. An AFP reporter at the scene said the woman fainted after receiving her lashes and was later taken away in an ambulance.
Muhammad Rizal, head of Banda Aceh’s Sharia police, said the couple received a total of 140 lashes each — 100 for engaging in sexual relations outside marriage and an additional 40 for drinking alcohol. Sexual relations between unmarried couples are strictly prohibited in Aceh, the only province in Indonesia that enforces a version of Islamic sharia law.
The punishment is believed to rank among the highest number of lashes imposed since Aceh was granted special autonomy in 2001, allowing it to implement Islamic law.
The couple was among six people punished on Thursday for violating Aceh’s Islamic code. Those flogged also included a sharia police officer and his female partner, who were caught in close proximity in a private location. They each received 23 lashes.
“As promised, we make no exceptions, especially not for our own members. This certainly tarnishes our name,” Rizal said.
Public caning continues to receive strong support in Aceh as punishment for offences such as gambling, alcohol consumption, same-sex relations, and sex outside marriage. Last year, two men were publicly flogged 76 times each after being convicted by a sharia court of engaging in sexual relations.
