Indonesia Court sentences two men to 80 lashes of Public flogging over g@y acts

An Islamic court in Indonesias conservative Aceh province on Monday, August 11 sentenced two college students to 80 lashes each in public after they were found guilty of engaging in same-s3x acts. The Banda Aceh Sharia Court ruled that the men, aged 20 and 21, had violated Islamic law after religious police caught them kissing and hugging in a public park bathroom in April. The trial was held behind closed doors, with the verdict announced publicly. Chief Judge Rokhmadi M. Hum said the men were legally and convincingly proven to have committed acts leading to homosexual relations. The court did not disclose their identities. Prosecutors had sought 85 strokes, but the three-judge panel reduced the sentence, citing the defendants cooperation, politeness in court, lack of prior convictions, and status as outstanding students. Four lashes will be deducted from the punishment to account for the four months they have already spent in detention. Aceh is the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia allowed to enforce a form of Islamic law under a 2006 peace deal that ended a separatist conflict. Its Sharia code prescribes up to 100 lashes for moral offenses, including same-sex relations, adultery, gambling, drinking, and certain dress code violations. Human rights groups have repeatedly condemned Acehs caning punishments, calling them a violation of international human rights treaties signed by Indonesia. The countrys national criminal code does not criminalize homosexuality. Mondays ruling marks the fifth time Aceh has sentenced people to public caning for homosexuality since its Islamic law took effect in 2015.  The post Indonesia Court sentences two men to 80 lashes of Public flogging over g@y acts appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.