Two men suspected of having a gay sex are canned in Aceh, the only Indonesian province with strict Sharia laws

Global rights group Amnesty International has criticized the recent flogging of two Indonesian men for having a consensual same-sex relationship as a "horrifying act of discrimination."

"Intimate sexual relations between consenting adults should never be criminalized," the group's deputy regional director Montse Ferrer said in a statement.

"No one should be punished because of their real or perceived sexual orientation," Ferrer added in the statement released on Feb. 27.

The condemnation came after two university students aged 24 and 18 years old were flogged in public on Feb. 27 in the city of Banda Aceh for allegedly conducting a same-sex relationship.

Banda Aceh is the largest city and capital of Aceh province, the only Indonesian province that has enforced Sharia law for both Muslims and non-Muslims. It also criminalizes same-sex relationships.

One of the men accused of instigating the relationship was lashed 82 times, and the second man 77 times, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported.

Both were caned with a rattan stick as dozens watched on. The men's sentences were reduced by three lashes for three months spent in detention, the report said.

In November 2024, locals had stormed into their rented room in Banda Aceh because of suspicions they were having a same-sex relationship.

They were then taken to the Sharia police for allegedly having sexual relations.

Ferrer criticized that both the privacy and dignity of the young men were torn down with the public display of their punishment.

"Having already had their privacy brutally invaded when they were ambushed by members of the public while having sex, these men were then humiliated in public today and physically harmed," Ferrer said.

Ferrer also added that flogging as a form of punishment is "cruel, inhuman and degrading, and may amount to torture."

She urged the Aceh and Indonesian central government authorities to take immediate action to halt these practices and revoke the bylaws that allow them to take place.

Conservative Aceh province prefers public canning as a common punishment for a wide range of offences that include gambling, drinking alcohol, and adultery.

The province, which was granted special autonomy in 2001, has its own set of Sharia bylaws that are based on the Islamic Criminal Code and are enforced by Islamic courts.

Citizen's arrests are common in the region due to the implementation of Sharia law, which allows locals to turn people over to the Sharia police for investigation.

The Sharia laws in some cases provide for up to 200 lashes as punishment for offences including consensual intimacy or sexual activity for unmarried couples, consensual sex outside marriage, same-sex sexual relations, the consumption and sale of alcohol, and gambling.

Ferrer pointed out that Aceh's bylaws must be brought in line with international human rights law and standards and with Indonesia's obligations under its own constitution.

"Aceh's regional autonomy, which is its basis to apply Sharia law, must not come at the expense of human rights," Ferrer emphasized.

In 2024, a total of 135 individuals received similar punishments in Aceh and 15 people in 2025, according to Amnesty.

Source: https://www.ucanews.com/news/rights-group-slams-public-flogging-of-indonesian-gay-men/10804