Latest news with #BandaAceh
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- South China Morning Post
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.
CTV News
4 days ago
- CTV News
Islamic Shariah court in Indonesia's Aceh province sentences 2 men to public caning over sexual acts
A police officer escorts two men accused of having gay sex, upon arrival for their sentencing hearing at the Sharia Court in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah) BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — An Islamic Shariah 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. 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 to a trial if the case relates to adultery and open it only for the verdict. The couple, aged 20 and 21, were arrested in April after residents saw them entering the same bathroom at Taman Sari city park in Banda Aceh and reported it to Sharia police, who were patrolling the area. The police broke into the toilet and caught the men kissing and hugging each other, which the court considered to be a sexual act. Aceh is considered more devout than other areas of Muslim-majority Indonesia and is the only province allowed to observe a version of Islamic Shariah law. Monday's verdict was the fifth time that Aceh has sentenced people to public caning for homosexuality since the Islamic law was implemented in 2015 as a concession made by the government to end a long-running separatist rebellion. Indonesia's national criminal code doesn't regulate homosexuality, and the central government doesn't have the power to strike down Shariah law in Aceh. The Associated Press
CBS News
4 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Indonesia court sentences 2 men to 80 lashes each for what it decided was gay sex
An Islamic Shariah 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. 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 to a trial if the case relates to adultery and open it only for the verdict. The couple, aged 20 and 21, were arrested in April after residents saw them entering the same bathroom at Taman Sari city park in Banda Aceh and reported it to Sharia police, who were patrolling the area. The police broke into the toilet and caught the men kissing and hugging each other, which the court considered to be a sexual act. Aceh is considered more devout than other areas of Muslim-majority Indonesia and is the only province allowed to observe a version of Islamic Shariah law. Monday's verdict was the fifth time that Aceh has sentenced people to public caning for homosexuality since the Islamic law was implemented in 2015 as a concession made by the government to end a long-running separatist rebellion. Indonesia's national criminal code doesn't regulate homosexuality, and the central government doesn't have the power to strike down Shariah law in Aceh.
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Associated Press
Islamic Shariah court in Indonesia's Aceh province sentences 2 men to public caning over gay sex
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — An Islamic Shariah court in Indonesia's conservative Aceh province on Monday sentenced two men to public caning 80 times each after Islamic religious police caught them having gay sex. 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 to a trial if the case relates to adultery and open it only for the verdict. The couple, aged 20 and 21, were arrested in April after residents saw them entering the same bathroom at Taman Sari city park in Banda Aceh and reported it to Sharia police, who were patrolling the area. The police broke into the toilet and caught the men kissing and hugging each other, which the court deemed to be a sexual act. Aceh is considered more devout than other areas of Muslim-majority Indonesia and is the only province allowed to observe a version of Islamic Shariah law. Monday's verdict was the fifth time that Aceh has sentenced people to public caning for homosexuality since the Islamic law was implemented in 2015 as a concession made by the government to end a long-running separatist rebellion. Indonesia's national criminal code doesn't regulate homosexuality, and the central government doesn't have the power to strike down Shariah law in Aceh.
Daily Mail
04-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
100 lashes each for unmarried sex: Couple are flogged in front of a crowd as part of Sharia law punishment in Indonesia
A couple in Indonesia were publicly flogged 100 times each after they were found guilty of sex outside marriage by a court operating under strict Islamic law. 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.
