Two men aged 21 and 20 were publicly caned in Banda Aceh after being judged to have engaged in same-sex sexual relations despite only being seen hugging and kissing in a public restroom. The sentence was carried out in a park, with the men receiving 76 and 82 lashes respectively and the alleged instigator receiving extra lashes. The punishments occurred under Aceh's Islamic Criminal Code, enabled by a 2001 autonomy law and 2014 Sharia implementation. Penalties under the code can include up to 100 lashes and up to 100 months in prison. Citizen's arrests are permitted under the local law.
"This public flogging of two young men under Aceh's Islamic Criminal Code for consensual sex is a disturbing act of state-sanctioned discrimination and cruelty," Montse Ferrer, Amnesty International's Regional Research Director, said in a statement. "This punishment is a horrifying reminder of the institutionalized stigma and abuse faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in Aceh. Intimate relationships between consenting adults should never be criminalized. Punishments such as flogging are cruel, inhuman and degrading and may amount to torture under international law."
"Two men were publicly caned in Indonesia on Tuesday after being found to have engaged in sexual relations - despite not actually having sex. The men, ages 21 and 20, were caught kissing in a public restroom at the Taman Sari Park in June. Depsite only being seen hugging and kissing, a panel of judges at the Banda Aceh Sharia Court found that they violated the province's laws against same-sex sexual relations, and sentenced them to be caned."
"Aceh is the only province out of 38 in Indonesia where same-sex sexual relations are criminalized. The 2001 Special Autonomy Law gave Aceh the independence to enforce Sharia law, which was used in 2014 to implement parts of the Islamic Criminal Code outlawing liwath (sodomy), musahaqah (lesbian), and zina (sex outside of marriage). Punishments for gay sex acts include up to 100 lashes and up to 100 months in prison."
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