Two Young Men were Given 85 Strokes for Homosexuality

In the Indonesian province of Aceh, two young men have been beaten with cane at 85 times each after they have been caught having sex.

Photo: Junaidi

These men stood on stage in white gowns praying while a team of hooded men lashed their backs with a cane.

The duo, aged 20 and 23, were found in bed together by vigilantes who entered their private accommodation in March. They have not been identified. 

Although, the men were sentenced to 85 strokes but the number was reduced by two because they had spent two months in detention. However, gay sex is not illegal in most of Indonesia but it is in Aceh, the only province which exercises Islamic law. 

It is the first-time gay men have been caned under Sharia law in the province. The punishment was delivered outside a mosque in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.

A large crowd of observers cheered as the caning took place. “Let this be a lesson to you,” one of the men watching cried out. “Do it harder,” another man yelled.

I met one of the young men in jail a day before the caning, the first journalist to speak to him.

He was terrified and his whole body was shaking. He was thin, pale and had a red rash on his skin.

Inmates surrounded us with intimidating glares as we tried to talk. I thought we were going to be speaking in a private room, but he was not granted that.

Before neighbourhood vigilantes broke down the door to his rented room, he was in his final years of a medical degree and his plan was to be a doctor. Now, it has been reported that the university has kicked him out.

Source: BBC