In the Indonesian province of Aceh, several unmarried couples have been publicly punished with wooden sticks for having had forbidden physical contact. The five couples were beaten with a cane between four and 22 times in front of a mosque in the provincial capital Banda Aceh on Wednesday. All of them had previously served several months in prison.
Indonesia’s population is mostly Muslim. The Aceh only province in which Sharia, strict Islamic law, applies. The couples had been convicted of holding hands, cuddling or sex before marriage. Hundreds of people, including many children, came for public punishment.
Sticking is a common punishment in Aceh, which also imposed on alcohol consumption and gambling. Human rights groups have described the practice as cruel and called for its abolition – a request that supports Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo. In contrast, the population of the province has great support for this type of punishment.
