A young couple in Indonesia was publicly caned on Thursday after allegedly kissing during a livestream on a popular social media platform. The couple, a 22-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman, each received 21 lashes. They were convicted of violating local morality laws under an Islamic Sharia court in Indonesia's conservative Aceh province.
The pair had already spent four months in prison prior to the punishment, which reduced their sentence from 25 lashes to 21. According to local authorities, the couple filmed a video inside a car one night in March, which went viral and led to their apprehension for what officials described as an "immoral act."
The Sharia police said the couple's actions were uncovered thanks to residents who were disturbed by their livestream content. The police stated that the livestream sparked criticism from netizens and local residents, who reported the couple to the authorities.
The court also confiscated a cellphone and a USB flash drive containing the video, which authorities promised to destroy. A resident who attended the caning said she believed the punishment was "entirely justified" and served as a warning to others in Aceh to be more careful when using social media.
Aceh is the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia that enforces its own Islamic Criminal Code governing moral conduct. The province's right to implement Islamic law was granted by Indonesia's secular central government around 2005 as part of a peace deal to end a separatist insurgency.
Under the law, moral offenses, including adultery and same-sex relations, can carry penalties of up to 100 lashes. Caning is also used for individuals accused of gambling, drinking, adultery, and premarital intimacy. Public caning in Aceh has long drawn criticism from human rights groups, which have called the practice cruel and degrading.
Despite Indonesia having ratified international conventions prohibiting cruel punishment, authorities in Aceh defend the practice, arguing it does not fall under such a definition.
