A Sharia court in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province has found two men guilty of engaging in gay sex and sentenced them to public flogging. The men, both university students, were arrested in November after locals raided a rented room in Banda Aceh and found them together.
According to Alfian, a public prosecutor at Banda Aceh District Court, the men were sentenced to 85 and 80 lashes, respectively. The first suspect received a heavier sentence for allegedly initiating the act and renting the room.
This punishment is in line with Aceh’s strict Sharia law, which prohibits gay sex. While gay sex is not illegal in the rest of Indonesia, Aceh’s unique laws allow for public flogging as a punishment for various offenses, including gambling, drinking alcohol, and adultery.
The region started using religious law after it was granted special autonomy in 2001, an attempt by the central government to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.