Indonesian couple flogged 140 times in Aceh for extramarital relationship, alcohol use

A woman and her partner were publicly flogged a total of 140 times in Indonesia’s Aceh province for engaging in an extramarital relationship and consuming alcohol.

Authorities described this as one of the harshest punishments enforced in the region in the past 25 years, reports AFP.

Local sharia enforcement officials said the woman received 100 lashes for the extramarital relationship and an additional 40 for drinking alcohol. Her partner was given the same punishment.

During the caning, the woman broke down in tears and was later taken to hospital by ambulance.

Aceh is the only province in Indonesia where Islamic sharia law is strictly enforced under a special autonomy arrangement.

Four other individuals were also punished during the same proceedings. Among them was a sharia police officer and his female companion, who each received 23 lashes for violating rules on close physical proximity.

Regional official Rizal said that the law is applied without exception, even to members of law enforcement. “We do not make exceptions, not even for our own personnel,” he said, adding that the incident had damaged the institution’s reputation.

Although Indonesia is a Muslim-majority country, Aceh remains the only province where public caning is carried out under sharia law. The practice has long been criticised by international human rights groups as cruel and inhuman.

Organisations including Amnesty International have repeatedly called for its abolition, but local authorities continue to defend it as part of Aceh’s religious and cultural values.