'The law is to safeguard human dignity'
LGBTI people caught having sex in Indonesia’s Aceh province will be punished by 100 lashes of the cane from today.
Anal sex between men and ‘the rubbing of body parts between women for stimulation’ is outlawed in the western province under a Sharia bylaw that came into force on Friday (23 October), and applies to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
‘The law is to safeguard human dignity. It is to protect Aceh’s Muslims from committing immoral acts,’ provincial Sharia chief Syahrizal Abbas told AFP.
Aceh is the only part of the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country that is allowed to implement Sharia law.
Gambling, drinking alcohol and fraternizing with the opposite sex outside of marriage are already punishable by public caning in the Aceh.
Canings are carried out with a thin rattan stick and can be substituted for a fine of up to 100 grams of gold or 100 months in jail.
Gay sex is not a crime in the rest of Indonesia.
Source:
Gay Star News, Darren Wee, October 23, 2015
Related article:
Aceh to implement tougher law, punishments from Friday
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Public caning for Sharia violators in Indonesia's Aceh Province |
The Aceh administration will start implementing a new, tougher Qanun Jinayat (Islamic criminal bylaw) on Friday, with wider scope and harsher punishments for violators, an official said on Thursday.
Syahrizal Abas, the head of the province’s Islamic sharia office, said the current bylaw was still lacking as it only regulated alcohol, gambling and unmarried couples being alone together.
"[The revised] Qanun Jinayat adds to the regulation regarding violations already in place," he said as quoted by kompas.com on Thursday.
The revised bylaw was passed by the Aceh Legislative Council (DPRA) in September last year. The Aceh government promoted the bylaw to the public over the past year and will now fully implementing it.
The new bylaw pertains to additional violations that include adultery, homosexuality, intimacy outside of marriage, accusing people of adultery without any witnesses, sexual harassment and rape.
The Qanun also stipulates harsher punishments – such as 100 lashes – for people proven in court to have engaged in adultery or homosexual acts.
Meanwhile, Banda Aceh deputy mayor Zainal Arifin said that the administration wanted to make improvements in many areas, including in Islamic sharia.
"The implementation of Islamic sharia must be aimed at supporting people to practice Islamic sharia in all aspects of their lives," he said.
Source:
The Jakarta Post, October 23, 2015