An unmarried couple in Indonesia’s Aceh province were subjected to an exceptionally severe public punishment after being found guilty of engaging in sexual relations outside marriage and consuming alcohol, a sentence that has reignited criticism from human rights organisations over the continued use of corporal punishment in the region.
The caning took place on Thursday in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, under Aceh’s strict Islamic legal framework. The man and woman were lashed a total of 140 times, a figure local officials described as among the harshest penalties handed down in recent years since Islamic law was formally implemented in the province more than two decades ago.
Aceh, situated at the northern tip of Sumatra, is the only province in Indonesia permitted to enforce sharia law, following special autonomy granted by the central government in 2001. Under this legal code, activities such as gambling, alcohol consumption, and intimate relations between unmarried individuals are treated as criminal offences and can be punished through public flogging.
Authorities said the couple received 100 lashes for having sex outside marriage, along with an additional 40 lashes for drinking alcohol. The punishment was carried out with a rattan cane in a public park, in front of dozens of onlookers, underscoring the public and deterrent nature of such sentences.
According to reports, the severity of the punishment took a physical toll on the woman, who collapsed during the caning and had to be taken away by ambulance for medical attention.
The sharia police chief in Banda Aceh, Muhammad Rizal, said the couple were among six people punished on the same day for breaching Islamic law. Those also sentenced included a member of the sharia police force and his female companion, who were accused of being alone together in a private setting. Each of them received 23 lashes. Rizal emphasised that no one was exempt from punishment, even law enforcement personnel, stating that such violations damaged the credibility of the institution itself.
Public caning remains a regular feature of law enforcement in Aceh and continues to attract sharp condemnation from human rights groups, which argue that the practice is degrading, cruel, and incompatible with international human rights standards. The punishments are typically conducted in open spaces and often draw crowds, further amplifying concerns about humiliation and psychological harm.
In previous cases, similar sentences have been imposed. Last year, two men were each flogged 76 times after being convicted by a sharia court of engaging in sexual relations. Organisations such as Amnesty International have repeatedly criticised public caning in Aceh, describing it as state-sanctioned cruelty and urging Indonesian authorities to abolish the practice altogether.
The latest incident has once again brought international attention to Aceh’s use of corporal punishment and renewed calls for reforms to align the province’s laws with broader human rights principles.
