In brief
In a controversial application of Sharia law, a 21-year-old woman and her partner were caned 140 times in Aceh, Indonesia, for having sex outside marriage and drinking alcohol. The punishment, deemed the highest recorded for such offenses, resulted in the woman fainting during the public execution. Rights advocates have condemned the harshness of this and similar penalties in the region, emphasizing the need for reforms in the enforcement of these laws.
A couple in Indonesia has been caned 140 times for having sex outside marriage and drinking alcohol because it violates Sharia, or Islamic religious law.
The 21-year-old woman fainted after what authorities said was a record number of strokes to be meted out in a public caning session in the Aceh province.
Three female officers took turns striking her with a rattan cane, while she cried. After she collapsed, she was carried off the stage by female officers to an ambulance.
The couple were caned on Thursday along with four others, including an officer from the Islamic police force, who were all found guilty of violating Sharia. Caning is a common punishment for breaking Islamic law in religiously conservative Aceh, although the practice has long drawn criticism from rights groups who say it's cruel.
Under Aceh's Islamic criminal code, sex outside marriage is punishable by 100 strokes of the cane, while consuming alcohol carries 40 strokes. Canings are not regulated properly, according to Azharul Husna, the Aceh coordinator for Indonesian rights group Kontras, who stated that the rules around such punishments should be 'improved' to support people after they're caned.
The officer from the Islamic police force was caned 23 times, as was his female partner, for being in close proximity in a private place. Muhammad Rizal, the head of Aceh's Islamic police force, confirmed that the officer would be dismissed for the violation.
Aceh is the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia to enforce Sharia and punishes many offences with public canings.
