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Couple receives 21 lashes each after Sharia court conviction in Aceh
A 22-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman were publicly caned 21 times each in Banda Aceh on Thursday. An Islamic Shariah court convicted them of kissing during a February TikTok livestream.
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A 22-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman were publicly caned 21 times each in Banda Aceh on Thursday after an Islamic Shariah court convicted them of kissing during a February TikTok livestream. The court ordered the punishment for violating Islamic law by kissing without being married.
At least 100 people watched the caning, which was carried out by people wearing robes and hoods on a stage in Bustanussalatin City Park.
Background on the case The couple was arrested in April after the Feb. 27 livestream went viral and prompted reports to local Sharia authorities. The court also seized a cell phone and a USB flash drive containing the video as evidence to be destroyed.
Aceh is the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia that enforces a version of Islamic law. Indonesia’s central government granted the province the right to implement religious law in 2006 as part of a peace deal.
Additional punishments Four other people were publicly caned on Thursday for online gambling and adultery. The law allows up to 100 lashes for morality offenses including adultery and gambling.
