Two gay men sentenced to 85 lashes in Indonesia

Illustration. Indonesia

Two gay men sentenced to a punishment of 85 lashes with whipping-sticks in Indonesia

A Sharia court in the Aceh province of Indonesia has sentenced two gay men to be punished by corporal beating with shipping-sticks.

 

Each of the men will be lashed 85 times with the stick, it was stated in the court’s ruling on Wednesday. The verdict is the first of its kind in the province of Aceh.

The men, aged 20 and 23, have been convicted of having sex.

A vigilante group broke into a room where the two were together in March of this year.

Very conservative

Aceh is one of the most conservative provinces in Indonesia. The country is the world’s most populous Muslim country, and has traditionally been known for a moderate form of Islam.

During the tsunami disaster in Asia in 2004, Aceh was most severely affected. Over 160,000 people died when the earthquake hit the coast of the province.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today