Two Gay Men Face 80 Lashes Each in Aceh’s Closed-Door Court
Swift sentencing under Aceh’s Shariah code
In the Indonesian province famed for its strict enforcement of Islamic law, judges on Monday ruled that two men must endure 80 cane strokes apiece after vigilantes working with the province’s moral-patrol unit found them engaged in acts deemed “immoral.” The session in Banda Aceh’s central courthouse unfolded behind locked doors—a measure available to the court whenever charges revolve around adultery or sexual “deviance.” Spectators were barred until the moment the final verdict was read aloud.
How the case unfolded
Members of the Wilayatul Hisbah, Aceh’s uniformed Shariah police, raided a boarding room in late March after neighbors reported suspicious “overnight guests.” Inside, officers allegedly discovered the men in an intimate embrace.
Prosecutors levied the seldom-invoked article on liwath (same-sex relations), which carries punishment ranging from 100 lashes to public shaming. Pleas for leniency persuaded the bench to knock the count down to 80.
Citing Aceh’s own procedural statute that permits exclusion of the press during “adultery or obscenity” hearings, the panel barred cameras, activists, and relatives from the chamber until the moment of sentencing.
What happens next
After the customary 30-day appeal lapsed uncontested, the governor’s office will schedule the caning at Bustanus Salatin field, the same square where earlier offenders have been strapped to a wooden lattice for public display. A local medic must certify each man fit for punishment, after which the strokes are meted out in one continuous session under the watch of a crowd that can swell into the thousands.
Human-rights monitors claim the episode marks a sharp uptick in Aceh’s use of corporal sanctions against LGBTQ residents, a trend they tie to rising political pressure on conservative leaders ahead of regional elections next year.
Two Young Men Face Public Caning in Aceh after Private Encounter Sparks Sharia Prosecution
How a Shared Restroom Visit Became a Criminal Case
- April 2025: A 20-year-old and a 21-year-old student were spotted entering the same stall at Taman Sari city park in Banda Aceh.
- Neighbourhood residents alerted Wilayatul Hisbah, the provincial Sharia police, who were conducting routine patrols.
- Officers forced open the door and stated they witnessed kissing and embracing, actions later classified as a “homosexual sex act” under Aceh’s unique interpretation of Sharia.
Verdict in Banda Aceh’s Sharia Court
On 11 August 2025, Judge Rahmat Abdullah Ali delivered a sentence that stunned local rights observers: each man was ordered to endure 77 lashes in a public square. Black-clad officers and a stern-faced prosecutor marched the pair into court while crowds outside jeered. It marks the fifth public caning imposed on same-sex defendants in just a decade.
Key Figures
Province: Aceh – the only region in Indonesia empowered to enforce its own Sharia code.
Year Sharia expanded: 2015, a compromise struck to quell separatist unrest.
National backdrop: Jakarta’s Criminal Code contains no ban on homosexuality, leaving Aceh’s statutes legally unassailable from the capital.
Reaction on the Ground
“We respect the court, but our children deserve mercy,” a close relative of one defendant whispered outside the courthouse. Meanwhile, conservative cleric Harun Pasha praised the judgment as “a shield against moral decay.” Advocacy groups condemned the ruling as torture camouflaged as justice, yet have little recourse under Indonesia’s decentralised legal architecture.
What Happens Next
The pair will undergo a brief appeal window; if upheld, the sentence is scheduled during Aceh’s next Friday enforcement day when thousands typically gather in the capital’s Lapangan Kurnia.
