2 men in Indonesia publicly caned 77 times for having consensual sex

The men, aged 27 and 29, were arrested in November after neighbors became suspicious of their relationship. They broke into their rented room and caught them having consensual sex, according to Heru Triwijanarko, Aceh’s acting Sharia police chief. Aceh is the only province in Indonesia to practice Sharia law.

Last month they were sentenced to 80 strokes each, but received 77 after having spent some time in prison. The flogging took place at Banda Aceh’s Tamansari city park. The men stood in the center of a circle, as dozens watched and took pictures of them. Local media reported that the officer’s stick broke as it struck one of the men, but it was immediately replaced.

The beating marked the third time people were caned in the province for consensual same-sex relations since the Islamic law was implemented in 2015.

In December, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association released an update to its global legislation overview of the State-Sponsored Homophobia report, which compiles countries and territories around the world that still criminalize consensual same-sex relations between adults.

“We reach the end of 2020 with 69 countries still criminalizing consensual same-sex acts,” Rafael Carrano Lelis, an expert in legal studies and LGBTQ+ rights, and a co-author of the report, told the Daily News. Gay sex can lead to the death penalty in six UN states, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association.

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