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.

The group said at least eight people had been flogged publicly in Aceh this year, including four people who were punished in the third week of January. Two people were flogged 40 times each for consuming alcohol, while a mixed-sex couple was flogged 17 times each for premarital sex.

Read also: Aceh unveils new female flogging squad

Amnesty also recorded that Aceh authorities handed down at least 60 caning punishments last year against 254 people, 52 of which were held after COVID-19 emerged in Indonesia.

Safrizal, who chairs the Aceh branch of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI), warned that any large gathering, including one attending public flogging, could increase the risk of COVID-19 transmission, kompas.com reported.

On Sunday, Aceh recorded four new confirmed cases and zero COVID-19 deaths, bringing the local tally to 9,228 cases and 378 deaths. According to the national COVID-29 task force as of Jan. 24, most regencies and cities in Aceh are classified as "orange zones" for moderate risk of COVID-19 infection.

Heru Triwijanarko, the acting head of the Banda Aceh public order agency and sharia police, said he was aware that "many people who came to the [location of punishment] did not physical distance".

"But caning should still be carried out in line with the rulings," said Heru. He stressed that authorities would always try to implement the health protocols at the location where the punishment was carried out, reported kompas.com.

MU and AL are not the first from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community that have been subjected to Aceh’s strict sharia punishment.

Read also: Aceh unveils new female flogging squad

In 2017, a 20-year-old man from Bireun in Aceh and a 24-year-old man from Langkat in neighboring North Sumatra received 85 lashes for engaging in a homosexual relationship. The case marked the first time a homosexual couple was prosecuted in Aceh since Qanun Jinayat was enforced in 2014 to replace Aceh’s 2003 Sharia Law.

Aceh is the only province that imposes Islamic law in Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim majority nation. The province’s Qanun Jinayat penalizes same-sex relationships, premarital sex, adultery, consumption of alcohol, gambling, public displays of affection and sexual abuse, as well as others deemed a moral offense under Aceh sharia law.

These offenses carry caning punishments ranging from 40 to 200 lashes and fines of 40 to 2,000 grams of gold.

Popular

Volcano erupts in North Sulawesi, hundreds evacuated

Dubai roads, airport reel from floods after record rains

Ramadan boosts consumer confidence, retail sales