A man and a woman were publicly flogged 100 times each in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province after being found guilty of engaging in sex outside of marriage-a crime under the region’s strict enforcement of Islamic sharia law.
The flogging took place on Wednesday in a public park in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, where a crowd gathered to witness the punishment. According to eyewitness reports, the two offenders were whipped in sets of ten using a rattan cane. The woman was caned by a female enforcer, in line with local procedure, as medical personnel stood by to monitor their condition.
Under Aceh’s sharia-based legal system, which operates independently from Indonesia’s national laws, any form of sexual activity outside marriage is criminalized. Although Indonesia passed a national law in 2022 banning extramarital sex, that law has yet to take effect and will only be implemented in 2026.
In addition to the couple’s punishment, three other individuals were also caned a total of 49 times for alleged gambling and alcohol consumption; both also punishable offenses under Aceh’s religious laws.
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Speaking after the public flogging, Banda Aceh Mayor Illiza Sa’aduddin Djamal defended the harsh penalties. “Today we are carrying out flogging punishment for perpetrators of adultery, alcohol consumption, and online gambling,” she said. “This becomes a moral lesson for the community at large. This flogging punishment becomes a gateway to repentance for them.”
Despite mounting international criticism, including condemnations from human rights organizations who describe the punishments as cruel and degrading, public flogging remains widely supported among Aceh’s population. Many in the deeply conservative Muslim region see it as a necessary deterrent to what they consider moral decay.
Aceh remains the only province in Indonesia where Islamic law is enforced, a special concession granted by the central government in 2001 as part of a peace deal to end decades of separatist conflict. Since then, religious police have routinely implemented sharia-based punishments for offenses such as adultery, gambling, and alcohol use.
This latest case adds to a growing list of controversial public punishments in the province. In February, two men were flogged more than 150 times each after being convicted of engaging in homosexual acts, another offense under Aceh’s strict interpretation of Islamic law.
