Daijiworld Media Network – Banda Aceh

Banda Aceh, Aug 12: An Islamic court in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province on Monday sentenced two college students to 80 lashes each in public after they were found guilty of engaging in what the court described as sexual acts, namely hugging and kissing.

The Banda Aceh Islamic Shariah District Court held the trial behind closed doors, allowing public access only during the verdict. The men, aged 20 and 21, were arrested in April after residents reported them entering the same bathroom at Taman Sari city park.

Islamic religious police broke in and caught them kissing and hugging, which the court ruled violated Aceh’s Islamic law prohibiting acts leading to gay sexual relations.

Lead judge Rokhmadi M. Hum said the court was convinced the two had committed the offense. Prosecutors had sought 85 lashes, but the three-judge panel opted for a lighter sentence, citing the men’s good academic record, politeness, cooperation, and lack of prior offenses. Four lashes will be deducted for the time they have spent in detention.

Prosecutor Alfian expressed dissatisfaction with the reduced sentence but said he would not appeal. Aceh is the only Indonesian province permitted to enforce Islamic law, under which up to 100 lashes can be imposed for morality offenses such as gay sex, adultery, gambling, drinking alcohol, and dress code violations.

Human rights groups have condemned Aceh’s caning law, saying it breaches international treaties protecting minority rights. Indonesia’s national criminal code does not criminalize homosexuality. Monday’s verdict marks the fifth such public caning sentence for homosexuality in Aceh since the law’s implementation.