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Amnesty lambasts Aceh over public caning of gay couple amid health crisis
Amnesty International has condemned Aceh for carrying out a public caning punshment against a gay couple, particularly during the current wave of COVID-19 infections in the country.
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An official in head-to-toe black garb prepares to carry out a caning punishment on March 2, 2016 in Banda Aceh, Aceh. The province is the only one among Indonesia's 34 provinces to enforce shara law under its Qanun Jinayat (Islamic criminal code). (Antara/Irwansyah Putra)
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ctivists from rights group Amnesty International Indonesia have questioned the Aceh administration’s priorities following the recent public caning of a gay couple during the going COVID-19 health emergency.
The two men, identified only as MU, 27, and AL, 29, were each caned 77 times on Jan. 28 in Banda Aceh for engaging in a homosexual relationship, which is outlawed under Aceh’s Qanun Jinayat (Islamic criminal code).
Sharia police detained the men on Nov. 14, 2020 following a report from residents living near MU’s boarding house in Kuta Alam district, Banda Aceh.
"No one deserves to be brutalized and humiliated in this way,” Amnesty Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid said in a statement on Saturday. “Targeting and criminalizing people because of their real or perceived sexual orientation is inhumane.”
Amnesty condemned the practice as “cruel” and also for being carried out in public amid the ongoing public health crisis. The group cited media reports that said the caning attracted around 100 onlookers.
“The fact that the flogging was conducted in front of a large crowd of people in the middle of the escalating COVID-19 outbreak shows the distorted priorities of the Aceh authorities," Usman said.
“We strongly urge both the Aceh and central government authorities to take immediate action to halt this cruel practice and revoke the bylaws that permit them,” he said.
