United News of Bangladesh

An unmarried couple in Indonesia’s Aceh province has been publicly caned a total of 140 times after being found guilty of having intercourse outside marriage and consuming alcohol, offences under the region’s Islamic Sharia law. Local authorities said the 21-year-old woman collapsed and briefly lost consciousness during the punishment, which officials described as the highest number of lashes carried out in a single public caning session in the province. She was struck by female officers using a rattan cane and was later taken away by ambulance after fainting. The man involved was also caned as part of the punishment. The couple were punished on Thursday along with four others convicted of violating Sharia law, including an officer from Aceh’s Islamic police force. Under Aceh’s Islamic criminal code, intercourse outside marriage is punishable by up to 100 lashes, while alcohol consumption carries a sentence of 40 lashes. The punishments are typically carried out in public and remain common in the deeply conservative province. The Islamic police officer was caned 23 times, along with his female partner, for being alone together in a private location. Authorities said the officer would be dismissed from service. Human rights groups have long criticised public caning in Aceh, calling it cruel and degrading. Azharul Husna, Aceh coordinator for Indonesian rights group Kontras, said the punishments are not properly regulated and stressed the need for better safeguards and post-punishment care for those subjected to caning. Aceh is the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia that formally enforces Sharia law, which allows for public corporal punishment for a range of offences.   With inputs from BBC