A young couple in Aceh province, Indonesia, were publicly flogged on Thursday, July 2, after an Islamic Shariah court convicted them of violating Islamic law by kissing during a TikTok livestream. Aceh's Sharia court ordered the two individuals to be flogged with a rattan cane 21 times each for kissing without being married.
Sentence Reduced Due to Time Served
Initially, the couple were sentenced to 25 lashes each, but the punishment was reduced to 21 strokes because they had already spent four months in prison. At least a hundred people witnessed the caning, which was carried out by a group of individuals wearing robes and hoods on a stage in Bustanussalatin City Park in Banda Aceh.
Arrest and Evidence
The couple, a 22-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman, were arrested in April after a February 27 livestream in which they kissed in a car in Banda Aceh went viral, prompting reports to local Sharia authorities. The court also seized a cellphone and a USB flash drive containing the TikTok live video as evidence to be destroyed.
Aceh's Unique Legal Status
Aceh is the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia that enforces a version of Islamic law. Indonesia’s secular central government granted the province the right to implement religious law in 2006 as part of a peace deal to end a separatist war. In 2015, Aceh expanded the law to apply to non-Muslims, who account for about 1% of the province’s population.
Morality Offenses and Punishments
The law allows up to 100 lashes for morality offenses including adultery and gay sex. Caning is also permitted to punish gambling, drinking, and for women who wear tight clothes or men who skip Friday prayers. The public flogging underscores the strict enforcement of Shariah law in Aceh, drawing both local support and international criticism.
