Aceh canes four Indonesians 100 strokes each for sex outside marriage

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — Four individuals were publicly caned in the strict Islamic province of Aceh, with each receiving 100 lashes for engaging in sexual activities outside of marriage, according to an AFP reporter present at the scene. The four, whose ages were not disclosed, were flogged in a public park in Banda Aceh's provincial capital, with a crowd of onlookers, including children, gathered to witness the punishment.

Some members of the crowd, drawn in by the spectacle, even shouted for the flogger to apply more force.

Four others were caned 22 times each for the misdemeanor of "physical intimacy," which can encompass acts such as hugging and kissing. Two individuals received fewer lashes, seven each, for getting too close to one another, a transgression that can include holding hands. Meanwhile, a man was flogged 20 times for consuming alcohol, another crime in Aceh.

These offenses are all punishable by caning in Aceh, a province that applies a version of Syariah Islamic law since 2002, a law that has been tightened in 2015. While not officially recognized as a legal form of punishment throughout Indonesia, caning remains a favored method of discipline in Aceh for a variety of infractions, including gambling and same-sex relations.

Aceh holds a unique position in Indonesia, having gained special autonomy under a 2005 peace agreement that concluded a 30-year separatist insurgency. The region is the largest in the world with a Muslim-majority population, yet it officially acknowledges six other religions along with indigenous beliefs.