BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) – Two men in the conservative province of Aceh in Indonesia were publicly decorated 77 times each on Thursday after neighbors reported them to the Islamic religious police for having sex.
Dozens of people watched the cane in Tamansari City Park in Banda Aceh. This is the third time that Aceh, the only province in Indonesia that enforces sharia law, has weakened people for homosexuality since Islamic law was implemented in 2015 as a concession by the government to end a protracted separatist uprising.
The men, aged 27 and 29 respectively, were beaten over the back and pulled in pain while a team of five enforcers wearing clothes and hoods took turns relieving each other after every 40 strokes.
The men were arrested in November after residents became suspicious and broke into their rental room where they were caught having sex, said Heru Triwijanarko, acting Sharia police chief of Aceh.
Last month, a court in Shariah sentenced to 80 strokes, but they were punished 77 times after a pardon for time in jail.
Four other people had 17 strokes for extramarital affairs and 40 strokes for drinking alcohol.
A Shariah code allows up to 100 lashes for moral offenses, including gay sex. Caning is also punishable for adultery, gambling, drinking and for women wearing tight clothing and men skipping Friday prayers.
With the exception of Aceh, homosexuality is not illegal in Indonesia, but the country’s low-profile LGBT community has been under siege in recent years.