Eleven people were publicly caned in Indonesia’s Aceh province on Thursday for offences under the region’s Islamic criminal law, including four men and women who received 100 lashes each for sex outside marriage.
The punishment was carried out in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, before members of the public.
Among those punished was a woman wearing a white headscarf who broke down in tears and collapsed during the caning. A masked officer administering the punishment briefly moved closer and appeared to comfort her before the proceedings continued.
Footage and photographs from the event have drawn renewed attention to Aceh’s use of public corporal punishment, a practice that has long faced criticism from international human rights organisations.
Four people convicted of sex outside marriage were each sentenced to 100 lashes.
Another four received 22 lashes for intimate physical contact such as hugging and kissing, while two others were given seven lashes for offences involving close physical contact or holding hands.
A man convicted of consuming alcohol was caned 20 times.
Public canings in Aceh are commonly carried out outside mosques or in open public spaces and can attract crowds of spectators. Children have also been seen among those attending such events.
During Thursday’s punishment, some spectators could reportedly be heard calling for the caning to be carried out more forcefully.
Aceh is the only province in Indonesia permitted to enforce a regional Islamic criminal code. The arrangement developed after the province was granted greater autonomy following the 2005 peace agreement that ended a decades-long separatist conflict.
Offences punishable under Aceh’s Islamic laws include sex outside marriage, gambling, same-sex relations and alcohol consumption. The regulations may also apply to non-Muslims in certain circumstances.
Human rights groups have repeatedly called for an end to public caning, describing the punishment as cruel and degrading.
Similar cases have continued to emerge in recent months. In July, a woman was publicly caned 21 times after being accused of inappropriate conduct on social media following a TikTok livestream in which she kissed her partner.
In May, another woman convicted in an adultery case was seen crying during her punishment before being carried away from the site.
While judicial caning of this kind is not practised elsewhere in Indonesia, the punishment continues to be enforced under Aceh’s special autonomy arrangements.
