A couple in Indonesia’s Aceh province received 140 cane lashes each for having sex outside marriage and drinking alcohol, a punishment likely among the most severe since the region adopted Islamic law.
Aceh Province Imposes Harsh Sharia Law Punishments
Sexual relations between unmarried individuals are strictly prohibited in Aceh, the only region in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, to enforce sharia law.
The couple was publicly flogged on their backs with a rattan stick while dozens watched, according to an AFP reporter at the scene. The woman reportedly fainted during the punishment and was taken to an ambulance.
The pair received 100 lashes for the illicit sexual relationship and an additional 40 for consuming alcohol, according to Muhammad Rizal, head of Banda Aceh’s Sharia police.
Officials believe this is one of the highest numbers of lashes imposed since sharia law was implemented in Aceh following the granting of special autonomy in 2001.
The couple was among six people flogged for violating the Islamic code. A sharia police officer and his female partner, caught in close proximity in a private place, received 23 lashes each.
“As promised, we make no exceptions, especially not for our own members. This certainly tarnishes our name,” Rizal said.
Caning in Aceh is used to punish offenses including gambling, drinking alcohol, same-sex relations, and extramarital sexual activity.
In 2025, two men were publicly flogged 76 times each after being found guilty of sexual relations by the sharia court.
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