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Gay men get 83 lashes in sharia punishment
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A convicted gambler is caned at Baitul Makmur Grand Mosque in Meulaboh, West Aceh regency, Aceh in this file photo. (JP/Hotli Simanjuntak)
H
aving been found guilty in a sharia court, two Acehnese men convicted of gay sex were publicly caned in Aceh’s provincial capital of Banda Aceh on Tuesday with each receiving 83 lashes.
Activists condemned the caning, which they said exacerbated Indonesia’s poor human rights record.
The men, identified only as MT, 23, and MH, 21 — both are university students — were convicted of committing liwath or same-sex sexual intercourse and thus violated Article 63 (1) of Qanun Jinayat (Islamic Criminal Code).
Thousands of people witnessed the caning, which was conducted under tight security provided by the Banda Aceh Police, the public order agency (Satpol PP) and sharia police.
The crowd had gathered at the Asyuhada Mosque, Lamgugob, since the morning. They appeared very enthusiastic perhaps because the caning was the first imposed on a gay couple since sharia law was implemented in the province in 1999.
“I am very curious to see the caning process. This has never happened before, that’s why I’ve come here,” Soraya, a university student from Pidie, said, adding that she had not known that Aceh’s sharia
A man is caned in public for engaging in same-sex relations in Banda Aceh on Tuesday. Two men received 85 lashes each on Tuesday after the Banda Aceh Sharia Court found them guilty of sodomy. code also applied to gay couples.
