An Islamic court in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province on Monday sentenced two men to public caning, 80 strokes each, after they were caught by religious police engaged in acts deemed sexual under Islamic law, including hugging and kissing.
The trial was held behind closed doors at the Islamic Shariah District Court in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital. Judges have the discretion to limit public access in such cases, opening the court only for verdict announcements.
The two men, aged 20 and 21, were arrested in April after locals reported seeing them enter the same bathroom at Taman Sari city park. Police intervened, finding the men kissing and hugging, which the court classified as sexual conduct.
Lead judge Rokhmadi M. Hum ruled the two college students “legally and convincingly” guilty of violating Islamic law by engaging in acts leading to gay sexual relations. Their identities were withheld.
Prosecutors had demanded 85 lashes each, but the three-judge panel reduced the sentence, citing the defendants’ good behavior, cooperation, and clean records. Their four months in detention will also be deducted, reducing the total lashes to 80.
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Prosecutor Alfian expressed dissatisfaction with the lighter punishment but declined to file an appeal.
Aceh is Indonesia’s only province authorized to enforce Sharia law, which permits up to 100 lashes for morality offenses including homosexuality, adultery, gambling, alcohol consumption, and improper dress or behavior.
The provincial government was granted this authority in 2006 under a peace agreement after years of separatist conflict. The law was expanded in 2015 to include non-Muslims, who form about 1% of Aceh’s population.
Human rights organizations have condemned the law for violating Indonesia’s international commitments on minority rights. The country’s national criminal code does not criminalize homosexuality.
Monday’s ruling marks the fifth public caning sentence in Aceh for homosexuality since the law’s introduction. In February, two men were sentenced to 85 lashes after vigilantes discovered them naked and embracing in their rented home in Banda Aceh.
Source: Agency