Two couples have been caned after allegedly having sex outside of marriage, breaking strict gender relations laws in Indonesia’s most conservative region.
Aceh province is the only area that practices Sharia law in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, and the only region where canings are carried out.
Horrifying images show the brutal punishments of up to 20 lashes inflicted by members of the Sharia police, known as Wilayatul Hisbah.
The women are seen kneeling with their heads bowed and the men standing while they are whipped.
Later, more disturbing images show a man’s injuries after being whipped, and officials inspecting his back, which was left bleeding and scarred.
Acehnese couples receive a religious lecture before being flogged in front of the public for violating Sharia law, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
A member of the Sharia police whips a woman after she was allegedly caught near a man, against the region’s strict laws.
Acehnese man stands firm on blue mat as he receives whipping punishment
One of the women who was whipped is seen kneeling with shoes in front of her as she anticipates her punishment.
Medical officials inspect man’s back after being whipped
People are seen taking photographs of the beating, which apparently took place in public.
The victims also received medical checks before they were beaten, and the doctors pictured took the men’s blood pressure.
Last year, Aceh’s government introduced strengthened laws aimed at “reducing sin” by keeping opposite sexes separate.
Men and women who are not related or married are prohibited from being in confined spaces in public places or vehicles.
Lawmakers said the stricter legislation aims to “mold a generation of people who faithfully adhere to Islamic values in their daily lives,” he said.
“Men and women who are not married or related cannot sit together in public places, secluded places or in vehicles,” according to the official statement.
As part of the crackdown on socializing, 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.
An Acehnese man undergoes a medical check-up before being flogged for violating Sharia law.
A man (dressed in white) is flogged by a member of the Sharia police as punishment for being caught near a woman in Banda Aceh.
A Sharia policeman hands over a rattan used as punishment in Indonesia’s Aceh province.
Acehnese woman flogged in front of public for violating Sharia law
A doctor checks wounds on a man’s back after receiving up to 20 lashes for violating Sharia law.
Offenses punishable by caning are said to include intimacy or sexual activity between unmarried partners, sexual relations outside of marriage, sexual relations between persons of the same sex, sale and consumption of alcohol, and gambling.
Floggings in Aceh have long been a public spectacle held in open spaces, and police and the public often film the punishments to increase the humiliation they aim to inflict on those who receive them.
For years, human rights activists have called for an end to the “inhuman and degrading form of punishment” of caning, urging the Indonesian government to take action.
An officer watches over two couples waiting to be flogged by Sharia police as punishment for having forbidden relations with the opposite sex.
For years, floggings have been a public spectacle in outdoor spaces, but many now take place indoors.
Two of the alleged religious law violators are handcuffed as the prosecutor escorts them to their punishment.
Doctors check a woman after she was whipped as punishment for violating strict gender relations laws.
Amnesty International Indonesia’s monitoring found that authorities in Aceh had carried out at least 60 public floggings against 254 people in 2020.
In 2019, reports emerged that a woman and a man lost consciousness when they were caned during separate public punishments on the same day.
In 2021, two men accused of same-sex “crimes” were caned 77 times each 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 can amount to torture.
“We strongly urge both Aceh and the central government authorities to take immediate action to stop this cruel practice and repeal the statutes that allow it to take place.”