Aceh Publicly Canes Men for Hugging and Kissing, Drawing International Condemnation

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia – An Islamic Shariah court in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province publicly caned two men on Tuesday for violating Islamic law by hugging and kissing, acts the court ruled could lead to banned sexual relations. The caning, which saw the 20 and 21-year-old men whipped dozens of times with a rattan cane, took place on a public stage in Banda Aceh, witnessed by approximately 100 people.

The court sentenced the men to 80 strikes each after Islamic religious police reported catching them engaged in the acts in a public park bathroom. Eight other individuals were also publicly caned on Tuesday for offenses including adultery and gambling. The men involved in the hugging and kissing incident were arrested in April after residents alerted police. Court records indicate they had connected via an online dating app prior to their park meeting.

Aceh is the only Indonesian province to enforce Shariah law, which allows up to 100 lashes for morality offenses, including same-sex relations and sex between unmarried individuals. While Indonesia’s national criminal code does not criminalize homosexuality, the central government cannot overturn Aceh’s Shariah law, a concession made to end a separatist uprising in 2006.

The public canings have drawn swift criticism from human rights organizations. Amnesty International issued a statement on Tuesday, labeling the punishment a “disturbing act of state-sanctioned discrimination and cruelty.” Montse Ferrer, Amnesty’s Regional Research Director, emphasized that “intimate relationships between consenting adults should never be criminalized.” Maidina Rahmawati of the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform also highlighted that public caning contradicts Indonesian laws and human rights interests. Conversely, some local residents, like Aulia Saputra, expressed hope that the caning would deter future violations of Shariah law.

This event marks another instance of such punishments in Aceh, which expanded its Islamic bylaws to non-Muslims in 2015. Previous attempts by human rights groups to challenge Aceh’s caning regulations in Indonesia’s Supreme Court have been rejected.

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