18 people were publicly caned today Tuesday, March 1 for breaking
Islamic law in Indonesia's Aceh province. Among them was a young
unmarried
couple who were caught spending time alone together. The punishment was
meted out by a hooded man with a rattan cane on a stage next to
the mosque in Banda Aceh, before a large, enthusiastic cheering crowd.
According to AP, the young couple aged 19 and 21 were given eight strokes each
after they were found spending time alone together, which is against
the law for unmarried Muslim couples in the province.
While
authorities did not disclose the offenses committed by the others, six
young men were also caned 40 times each after they were caught
drinking alcohol, which violates Islamic law, at a birthday party in a
hotel room.
Public caning happens on a regular basis in Aceh, the only province
in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country to implement
Islamic shariah law, but is less common for women.
Aceh began implementing shariah law after being granted special
autonomy in 2001, an effort by the central government in Jakarta to
quell a long-running separatist insurgency.
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