Two Young Men Publicly Caned In Indonesia For Allegedly Having Gay Sex
Two college students in Indonesia’s Aceh province were publicly caned last Thursday, accused of engaging in consensual same-sex intimacy. This disturbing event draws attention to the harsh realities of living under Shariah law, especially for those whose identities or actions fall outside its rigid expectations.
What Happened in Aceh?
In Banda Aceh’s Bustanussalatin city park, a crowd gathered to witness the public punishment. The two young men, aged 24 and 18, were sentenced to 85 and 80 lashes respectively for “morality offenses,” though the number was reduced slightly for time served in prison. By the end, they were caned 82 and 77 times across the back by enforcers cloaked in robes and hoods.
The men had been arrested in November after neighbours suspected them of being gay. Residents forced their way into the students’ rented room, where they reportedly found the pair naked and embracing. The two were handed over to Shariah police, setting off a chain of events that ended in the brutal display witnessed last week.
A Province Governed by Fear
Aceh is unique in Indonesia as the only province where Shariah law is enforced. This legal system, implemented in 2006 as part of a peace deal to end a decades-long separatist war, has turned into a powerful tool of control. It disproportionately affects women, minorities, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community who do not conform to its stringent moral codes.
For same-sex intimacy, the penalty includes up to 100 lashes, a brutal punishment that has been carried out multiple times since 2015 when Aceh expanded its Shariah laws. No one is truly exempt; even non-Muslims, who make up just 1% of Aceh’s population, are subject to these rules. The laws also extend to punishments for gambling, alcohol consumption, and skipping Friday prayers.
One of the men caned last week had to be carried away after the lashing left him too weak to move. The other was forced to stand and endure stroke after stroke as the crowd watched.
These men were publicly caned 83 times in Indonesia after being found in bed together. pic.twitter.com/qCpaUOEYRB
— AJ+ (@ajplus) May 24, 2017
Who Benefits From This Violence?
While the central government of Indonesia operates under a secular criminal code that does not criminalise homosexuality, it has little power to interfere with Aceh’s enforcement of Shariah law. This autonomy was granted in 2006 as part of a political compromise, but it has come at a devastating cost to human rights.
Amnesty International and other groups have condemned the practice of public caning, calling it inhumane and a violation of international treaties designed to protect minorities and individual freedoms. Yet the punishments persist. Public flogging is a deliberate spectacle meant to shame and instill fear, not just in those being whipped but in anyone who dares to live outside the sanctioned lines.
These punishments reinforce a culture where love and self-expression are crimes. It begs the question: what kind of society do we create when public humiliation becomes a weapon against our most basic human instincts?
We must not look away from these stories. What can be done when the system itself is designed to suppress? When laws are used not to protect, but to punish?
