Flogging Carried Out in Front of 100 Residents
Human Rights Groups Call It "Inhumane"... Local Support Remains Divided
In Indonesia, two men in their twenties were publicly flogged for hugging and kissing each other.
On the 26th (local time), British media outlets such as the Daily Mail reported that two men, aged 20 and 21, each received 76 lashes in a city park in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh Province.
The two were arrested in April after residents reported them for hugging and kissing in a public restroom in the park. According to police investigations, it was revealed that they had met through an online dating application.
The Sharia court initially sentenced them to 80 lashes, but the punishment was partially reduced because they were first-time offenders, diligent students, and had cooperated during the investigation. Prosecutors had initially sought 85 lashes, but after taking into account the period of detention, 76 lashes were ultimately administered.
On the 26th (local time), a man convicted of homosexuality was flogged in Banda Aceh, Aceh Province, Indonesia. Photo by Yonhap News
The flogging was carried out by an official wearing a robe and hood, using a rattan cane, while around 100 residents gathered to watch. At the same location, eight other men and women convicted of adultery and gambling were also flogged.
Regarding this incident, Amnesty International stated, "Public flogging for consensual intimacy between adults is a textbook example of state-sanctioned discrimination and cruelty," and urged, "Indonesian authorities must immediately end such inhumane punishments." Human rights groups within Indonesia have previously requested a review of Aceh Province's flogging system by the Supreme Court, but the request was dismissed.
However, some local residents expressed support for the application of Sharia (Islamic law), saying, "Flogging has a deterrent effect on crime," reflecting divided opinions within the community.
Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. While Indonesia's criminal code does not criminalize homosexuality itself, Aceh Province is the only region in the country to officially implement Sharia, strictly prohibiting homosexuality, extramarital sex, gambling, and alcohol consumption, and sentencing violators to flogging.
The central government does not directly intervene in the independent implementation of Sharia in Aceh, which has special autonomous status. In February, Aceh also carried out flogging against a 24-year-old man and two 18-year-old men for violating laws against homosexuality.
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