Two men have been lashed 83 times each in the Indonesian province of Aceh after they were caught naked in bed together.
Two men were lashed in public, upon a stage, in front a mosque in the Indonesian province of Aceh. They were discovered, naked in bed together by a group of vigilantes who broke into their private room.
The pair, aged 20 and 23 were found together in March and arrested. They have not been identified and were lashed whilst wearing a hood during their punishment.
A large crowd gathered to watch the brutal punished and reportedly cheered at each lash. According to the BBC, one of the men cried out “”Let this be a lesson to you,” whilst another shouted, “Do it harder”.
The men were supposed to receive 85 lashes, but it was reduced to 83 after they spent two months in prison.
Being gay is not illegal in Indonesia except in the province of Aceh and the city of Palembang in South Sumatra, where elements of Sharia law has been introduced since 1999. These rule could also be applied to non-Muslims in the region.
In 1999 the Province’s Governor moved to issue limited Sharia-based regulations. Sharia law expressly forbids homosexuality. In 2014 a law was introduced which punished anybody engaging and caught having gay sex with 100 lashes, 100 months in jail or a heavy fine.
The men were arrested at the end of March. They were taken to Wilayatul Hisbah, a Sharia police station. They both now face 100 lashes as punishment. The entire siege was filmed on a mobile phone.
This is the first time that anyone has been punished in this way for being gay in Aceh.
