Public canings in the extremely conservative province take place on a stage and often attract large crowds. Photo: Getty Images
A 20-year-old woman was publicly caned in Indonesia for standing too close to her boyfriend.
The unnamed woman received 23 lashes during the public caning in Banda Aceh for violating Sharia Law, which strictly prohibits any level of intimacy between unmarried people. The province — the only in the Muslim-majority country to impose Islamic law — also uses corporal punishment for offenses like gambling, drinking and adultery.
The woman was the 14th person to be caned in October.
On October 17th, another public caning took place for a group of six women and seven men — all between the ages of 21 and 30 who were found guilty of relations outside of marriage. One of the men had been caught hiding with a woman “in a fashion that could lead to adultery,” according to reports.
One woman was granted a temporary reprieve after officials discovered she was pregnant. But the province’s deputy mayor said the punishment would be carried out after she gives birth.
The mayor also added that he hoped the violent punishments would deter people from breaking the law in the future.
Amnesty International reported at least 108 canings in Aceh in 2015, a number expected to have risen in 2016. Officials in Banda Aceh added the passage that criminalizes sexual relations outside of marriage in October, 2015.
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