100 lashes each for unmarried sex: Couple are flogged in front of a crowd as part of Sharia law punishment in Indonesia
The man and woman stood in front of a crowd in the country's conservative Aceh province on Wednesday as they received their brutal punishment.
Sexual relations between an unmarried couple is outlawed in Aceh - which is the only area that practices Sharia law in Indonesia, and the only region where floggings take place.
Shocking images show the pair grimacing in pain as a masked member of the Sharia police delivers the agonizing lashings.
Indonesia banned sex outside of marriage in its latest criminal code in 2022 but that law will not come into force until next year.
The two were lashed in sets of 10 with a rattan stick as a small crowd watched on at a park in provincial capital Banda Aceh, and the female suspect was lashed by a woman, according to a reporter at the scene.
Three other suspects were caned a combined 49 times for alleged gambling and alcohol consumption.
The man and woman stood in front of a crowd in Indonesia 's conservative Aceh province on Wednesday as they received their brutal punishment
Sexual relations between an unmarried couple is outlawed in Aceh, which imposes a version of sharia, the Islamic legal code
The two were lashed in sets of 10 with a rattan stick as a small crowd watched on at a park in provincial capital Banda Aceh, and the female suspect was lashed by a woman, according to a reporter at the scene
'Today we are carrying out flogging punishment for perpetrators of adultery, alcohol consumption, and online gambling,' Banda Aceh Mayor Illiza Sa'aduddin Djamal told reporters.
'This becomes a moral lesson for the community at large. This flogging punishment becomes a gateway to repentance for them.'
Medical services were on standby for all of those convicted.
Rights groups have condemned the punishment as draconian.
Yet caning retains strong support among Aceh's population as a common punishment for a range of offences including gambling, drinking alcohol and adultery.
In February two men were publicly flogged more than 150 times after being found guilty of sexual relations. Gay sex is outlawed in Aceh.
The region started using religious law after it was granted special autonomy in 2001, an attempt by the central government to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.
It comes after last year two couples received thrashes with canes after allegedly having sex outside marriage in Aceh.
Horrifying pictures showed the brutal punishments of up to 20 lashes being meted out by members of the Sharia police, known as the Wilayatul Hisbah.
The women are seen kneeling with their heads bowed and the men standing up as they are caned.
In the aftermath, more disturbing images show one man's injuries after he received the lashes, with officials inspecting his back which is left bleeding and scarred.
The victims also received medical check-ups before the thrashes were given out, with medics pictured checking the men's blood pressure.
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