Indonesia: Gay Men Caned 83 Times In Front Of Jeering Crowd In Aceh

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Two men have been caned 83 times each in the Indonesian province of Aceh after being caught having sex.

The men stood on stage in white gowns praying while a team of hooded men lashed their backs with a cane, the BBC reported.

The pair, aged 20 and 23, were found in bed together by vigilantes who entered their private accommodation in March. They have not been identified.

Same sex relations are not illegal in most of Indonesia but it is in Aceh, the only province which exercises Islamic law.

It is the first time gay men have been caned under Shariah in the province.

The punishment was delivered outside a mosque in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.

A large crowd of observers jeered the two men when they appeared and cheered as the caning took place. “Let this be a lesson to you,” one of the men watching cried out. “Do it harder,” another man yelled.

Earlier, an organiser warned the crowd not to attack the men, saying, “they are also human.”

The men were sentenced to 85 strokes but the number was reduced by two because they had spent two months in detention.

UCA News

The Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA News, UCAN) is the leading independent Catholic news source in Asia. A network of journalists and editors that spans East, South and Southeast Asia, UCA News has for four decades aimed to provide the most accurate and up-to-date news, feature, commentary and analysis, and multimedia content on social, political and religious developments that relate or are of interest to the Catholic Church in Asia.

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