A sharia court in Indonesia’s ultra-conservative Aceh province has sentenced two gay men to public caning.
On Wednesday, the court said each of the men, 20 and 23 years old, would receive 85 lashes for having had sex with each other.
From the Associated Press:
The couple were arrested in late March after neighborhood vigilantes in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, suspected them of being gay and set out to catch them having sex.
Aceh is the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia to practice Islamic law, or sharia, which was a concession made by the national government in 2006 to end a years-long war with separatists. It implemented an expanded sharia code two years ago.
PHOTO: Policemen stand during ceremony ahead for election to vote governor in Lhokseumawe, Indonesia Aceh province, February 14, 2017 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. [VIA REUTERS]