- By Shivangi Sharma
- Tue, 26 Aug 2025 07:11 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Two men were publicly whipped 76 times each on Tuesday in Indonesia's conservative province of Aceh for being convicted of having same-sex relations. The punishment, administered using a rattan cane, was witnessed by over 100 onlookers in a public park in the capital city of Banda Aceh, most of whom captured the ordeal on their mobile phones.
The two had been detained in April when Aceh's religious police said they arrested them at a public park restroom where they were hugging and kissing. The two men had allegedly met via a dating site before meeting at the park. They were originally sentenced to 80 lashes, which were cut by four strokes to reflect time already served in detention.
Punishment Under Strict Sharia Law
Aceh is the only Indonesian province allowed to impose Sharia law, after it was given special autonomy in 2001 under a peace agreement to conclude a separatist conflict. Religious courts since then have put in place strict bylaws governing morality, gambling, and alcohol use, with penalties ranging from public caning.
Although homosexuality is not against the law elsewhere in Indonesia, Aceh's expanded criminal code, enacted in 2015, criminalises same-sex relations with flogging as its punishment. The regulations also cover the province's non-Muslim minority, who constitute approximately 1 per cent of the province's population.
Eight other individuals, including three women, were also flogged on the same day for unrelated offences, including sex outside marriage, proximity to members of the opposite sex, and online betting.
Global Outrage And Human Rights Issues
Human rights bodies condemned the flogging as an attack on basic human dignity. Amnesty International condemned the persecution of same-sex relations and asked Indonesia to stop such punishment.
"Criminalising same-sex conduct and inhumane punishment through public flogging have no place in a fair and compassionate society," said Montse Ferrer, Amnesty's research director for the Asia-Pacific region, in a statement.