Two men, aged 20 and 21, were publicly caned in Aceh province on August 26, 2025, after an Islamic Shariah court convicted them of violating Islamic law by hugging and kissing, acts the court deemed could lead to prohibited sexual relations. The punishment took place before approximately 100 spectators at Bustanussalatin city park in Banda Aceh, where the men received 80 lashes each across their backs, administered by robed and hooded enforcers using rattan canes.
The men were arrested in April 2025 at Taman Sari city park after residents reported seeing them enter a bathroom together. Islamic religious police found them kissing and hugging, having connected via an online dating app, according to court records. Aceh’s Shariah court sentenced them for these acts, which are classified as morality offenses alongside gambling, alcohol consumption, women wearing tight clothing, and men missing Friday prayers. Aceh permits up to 100 lashes for such violations, including homosexual acts and extramarital sex.
Eight others were also caned on the same day for adultery and gambling. Aceh, the only Indonesian province to enforce Shariah law, implemented this system in 2006 as a concession to end a separatist uprising. The province expanded its Islamic bylaws in 2015 to include non-Muslims, who comprise about 1% of its population. This marks the fifth instance of caning for homosexuality-related cases since 2006, with two other men caned in February 2025 at the same park for similar charges.
Indonesia’s national criminal code does not regulate homosexuality, and the central government cannot overturn Aceh’s Shariah laws. However, it previously pressured Aceh to abandon a proposed law mandating stoning for adultery. A 2016 petition by human rights groups to Indonesia’s Supreme Court to review Aceh’s caning regulations was rejected, though the Ministry of Home Affairs urged restraint for minor crimes.
Maidina Rahmawati, acting executive director of the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, criticized caning as inhumane, noting Indonesia’s commitment to abolishing such punishments under international conventions. “Public caning violates laws and human rights principles, tarnishing Indonesia’s image,” she said, attributing its persistence to political support for Aceh’s Shariah-based governance.
Amnesty International condemned the caning as “a disturbing act of state-sanctioned discrimination and cruelty,” with Regional Research Director Montse Ferrer stating that consensual adult relationships should not be criminalized. Conversely, local resident Aulia Saputra, who witnessed the caning, supported it, suggesting it could deter future Shariah violations.
