The punishment, carried out in Banda Aceh, was among the harshest imposed in recent years and drew renewed criticism from human rights groups over the continued use of public flogging in the province.
An unmarried couple in Indonesia’s Aceh province were publicly caned 140 times after being convicted of having sex outside marriage and consuming alcohol, The Independent reported.
The punishment was carried out on Thursday in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, under the region’s strict Islamic legal code, which criminalises extramarital relations and alcohol consumption. Local authorities said the sentence was among the harshest imposed since sharia law was introduced in the province more than 20 years ago.
Aceh, located at the northern tip of Sumatra, is the only province in Indonesia allowed to enforce sharia law, following special autonomy granted by the central government in 2001. Under the code, offences such as gambling, drinking alcohol and intimate relations between unmarried couples are punishable by public caning.
According to officials, the man and woman received 100 lashes for engaging in sexual relations outside marriage and an additional 40 lashes for drinking alcohol. The punishment was administered with a rattan cane in a public park, in full view of dozens of spectators.
News agency AFP reported that the woman collapsed during the caning and was taken away in an ambulance.
Banda Aceh’s sharia police chief, Muhammad Rizal, said the couple were among six people punished on the same day for violating Islamic law. Those also sentenced included a member of the sharia police force and his female partner, who were accused of being alone together in a private space. They were each given 23 lashes.
“As promised, we make no exceptions, especially not for our own members. This certainly tarnishes our name,” Rizal was quoted as saying.
Public caning remains common in Aceh and continues to draw criticism from human rights organisations, which describe the practice as cruel and degrading. The punishments are typically carried out in public spaces and often attract crowds.
Last year, two men were caned 76 times each after a sharia court found them guilty of sexual relations. Amnesty International has repeatedly condemned the practice, calling it a form of state-sanctioned cruelty and discrimination.
Human rights groups have repeatedly criticised the practice and urged Indonesian authorities to end it.
(With inputs from agencies.)
