Indonesian court orders public caning for 2 men over gay acts
The trial at the Islamic Shariah District Court in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, was held behind closed doors. Judges have the authority to limit public access in such a case and open it only for the verdict.
The two men, aged 20 and 21, were arrested in April after residents saw them entering the same bathroom at Taman Sari city park and reported it to police patrolling the area. The police broke into the toilet and caught the men kissing and hugging, which the court considered to be a sexual act.
The lead judge, Rokhmadi M. Hum, said the two college students were 'legally and convincingly' proven to have violated Islamic law by committing acts that lead to gay sexual relations. The court didn't publicly identify the men.
Monday's verdict was the fifth time that Aceh has sentenced people to public caning for homosexuality since the Islamic law was implemented. Photo: AP
Prosecutors previously sought 85 strokes of the cane for each, but the three-judge panel decided on what they described as a lenient punishment because the men were outstanding students who were polite in court, cooperated with authorities and had no previous convictions.
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South China Morning Post
4 days ago
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Indonesian court orders public caning for 2 men over gay acts
An Islamic court in Indonesia's conservative Aceh province on Monday sentenced two men to public caning, 80 times each, after Islamic religious police caught them engaged in what the court deemed were sexual acts: hugging and kissing. The trial at the Islamic Shariah District Court in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, was held behind closed doors. Judges have the authority to limit public access in such a case and open it only for the verdict. The two men, aged 20 and 21, were arrested in April after residents saw them entering the same bathroom at Taman Sari city park and reported it to police patrolling the area. The police broke into the toilet and caught the men kissing and hugging, which the court considered to be a sexual act. The lead judge, Rokhmadi M. Hum, said the two college students were 'legally and convincingly' proven to have violated Islamic law by committing acts that lead to gay sexual relations. The court didn't publicly identify the men. Monday's verdict was the fifth time that Aceh has sentenced people to public caning for homosexuality since the Islamic law was implemented. Photo: AP Prosecutors previously sought 85 strokes of the cane for each, but the three-judge panel decided on what they described as a lenient punishment because the men were outstanding students who were polite in court, cooperated with authorities and had no previous convictions.
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