Convicted of extramarital sexual relations, illegal in the province
Two women and two men convicted of extramarital sexual relations received 100 lashes on the back with a rattan cane in front of a crowd gathered in a public park in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh. They were sentenced by the Islamic court in the western Indonesian province of Aceh.
“The two women are prostitutes and the men are their clients,” said Muhammad Rizal, head of Aceh’s Islamic police.
Extramarital sexual relations are illegal in the province. Another five people received between nine and twenty-three lashes each for offenses such as being in close proximity to a person of the opposite sex and drinking alcohol. Aceh province began implementing Sharia law after gaining special autonomy in 2001, part of a central government effort to quell a long-running separatist insurgency. Human rights organizations condemn public flogging, but the practice enjoys strong support among the local population.
