140 Lashes Under Sharia Law: Indonesian Couple Publicly Flogged in Aceh for Sex Outside Marriage

In a case that has once again drawn international attention to Indonesia’s only sharia-governed province, an unmarried couple in Aceh was publicly flogged with a total of 140 lashes after being convicted of consuming alcohol and engaging in sexual relations outside marriage.

According to reports, the punishment was carried out on Thursday in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, under the region’s strict Islamic legal framework. The sentence is being described by local officials as one of the most severe corporal punishments handed down since Aceh formally adopted sharia law more than two decades ago.

Aceh, located at the northern tip of Indonesia’s Sumatra island, enjoys special autonomy granted by the central government in 2001. This unique status allows it to enforce Islamic criminal law, making it the only province in the country permitted to do so. Under Aceh’s legal code, alcohol consumption, gambling, and consensual relationships between unmarried couples are criminal offences.

Officials confirmed that the man and woman were sentenced to 40 lashes each for consuming alcohol and an additional 100 lashes for engaging in extramarital sex. The punishment was administered using a rattan cane in a public park, in full view of dozens of onlookers.

During the execution of the sentence, the woman reportedly collapsed and had to be taken away in an ambulance, highlighting the physical toll of the punishment. Medical staff were present on-site, as required by procedure, to monitor the condition of those being flogged.

The couple was among six individuals punished on the same day for violating Aceh’s Islamic laws, according to Muhammad Rizal, head of Banda Aceh’s sharia police. In a particularly notable case, a member of the sharia police force himself, along with his female companion, was found guilty of being alone together in a private space. Both were sentenced to 23 lashes each.

“We do not make exceptions, especially not for our own members. This incident has certainly damaged our reputation,” Rizal said, underscoring the authorities’ claim of impartial enforcement.

Despite such assertions, Human Rights organisations continue to strongly condemn public caning, describing it as cruel, degrading, and incompatible with international human rights standards. Groups argue that the practice disproportionately targets vulnerable individuals and is designed to publicly shame offenders.

Public floggings remain a regular occurrence in Aceh and are often carried out in open spaces, drawing large crowds. Last year, two men convicted by a sharia court for sexual relations were each sentenced to 76 lashes, further illustrating the persistence of corporal punishment in the province.

Amnesty International and other rights bodies have repeatedly called on Indonesian authorities to abolish public caning altogether, characterising it as state-sanctioned cruelty and discrimination. While Indonesia’s national government has distanced itself from the practice, it continues to allow Aceh to enforce sharia law under its special autonomy arrangement.

As global scrutiny intensifies, the latest incident once again raises difficult questions about the balance between regional autonomy, religious law, and universal human rights in the world’s largest Muslim-majority democracy.