A Sharia court in Indonesia’s Aceh province has sentenced two male university students to public flogging for engaging in same-sex relations, a crime under the province’s strict Islamic law. One man received 85 lashes, while the other was sentenced to 80.
Aceh, the only region in Indonesia that enforces Sharia law, regularly uses public flogging to punish offenses including gambling, alcohol consumption, and adultery. Human rights groups have condemned the practice as inhumane, but it remains widely supported locally.
The punishment is set to be carried out either before or after the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.
