Two men from Indonesia’s conservative province of Aceh have been beaten publicly 77 times each time after neighbors reported them to Islamic religious police for sex.
ACEH BAND, Indonesia – Two men from Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province were publicly offended 77 times on Thursday after neighbors reported them to Islamic religious police for having sex.
Dozens of people witnessed the strike at Tamansari Park in Banda Aceh. This is the third time that Aceh, Indonesia’s only province practicing Shariah law, has raised people for homosexuality since Islamic law was implemented in 2015 as a government concession to end a long-running separatist rebellion.
The men, aged 27 and 29, were whipped on their backs and shuddered in pain, while a team of five men wearing gowns and hoods rotated in turn, relieving each other after each of blows.
The men were arrested in November after residents became suspicious and entered the rented room where they were caught having sex, said Heru Triwijanarko, Aceh’s Sharia police chief.
Last month, a Shariah court sentenced each man to 80 strokes, but they were convicted 77 times after a remission for time spent in prison.
Four other people received 17 strokes for extramarital affairs and 40 strokes for alcohol consumption.
A Shariah code allows up to 100 genes for moral crimes, including homosexual sex. The baton is also a punishment for adultery, gambling, drinking and for women wearing tight clothes and for men skipping Friday prayers.
With the exception of Aceh, homosexuality is not illegal in Indonesia, but the low-profile LGBT community has been besieged in recent years.