Couple in Indonesia flogged 80 times by Sharia officers for gay sex

In a public spectacle that was condemned by human rights groups, a gay couple in Indonesia was whipped nearly 80 times for their having gay sexual intercourse. The incident happened in the Aceh province of Indonesia. Under local Islamic law, having gay sexual intercourse is outlawed, news agency AFP reported. 

The unidentified pair were beaten by a masked sharia officer who beat their backs with a rattan stick. According to an AFP report, the punishment was briefly stopped but continued soon after they were allowed to drink water.

“Islamic sharia enforcement is final, no matter who it is, and even visitors must respect local norms,” public order official Heru Triwijanarko told AFP.

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The men were arrested in November at a rental home where a landlord found them half-naked in their room.

Gay sex is not illegal elsewhere in Indonesia and Aceh is the only region in the world’s biggest Muslim nation that imposes the Sharia law.

In Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, public flogging is a common punishment for a range of offences that include gambling, drinking alcohol and adultery.

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In another punishment on the same day, four others were whipped between 17 and 40 times for allegedly drinking alcohol or meeting with members of the opposite sex.

Human rights groups slammed the public caning as cruel, and Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo has called for it to end.