A caning sentence being carried out in Banda Aceh, 19 September 2014. Source: Voice of America/ Wikimedia Commons
THE conservative Indonesian province of Aceh will no longer conduct the
Shariah punishment of caning in public, its governor said Thursday. The
displays had become public spectacles, attended by hundreds of onlookers
cheering and filming the proceedings.
The decision is reportedly in response to criticism of the caning of two
gay men that drew international condemnation and damaged Indonesia’s
reputation as a moderate Muslim country.
According to the Associated Press (via VOA),
a memorandum of understanding signed by Aceh Gov. Irwandi Yusuf and
Yuspahruddin, head of the provincial Law and Human Rights office,
stipulates that caning can only take place inside prisons or other
places of detention.
Under the new rules, adults will still be able to attend the sessions,
but attendance will be limited to small number and recording will be
prohibited.
“The aim of holding the caning inside prison is to prevent it from being
watched by children, without cameras and hand phones,” Yusuf said after
signing the memorandum, witnessed by Indonesian Minister of Law and
Human Rights Yasonna Laoly.
An Indonesian man is publicly caned for having gay sex, in Banda Aceh,
Aceh province, Indonesia May 23, 2017. Source: Reuters/Beawiharta
“The prisoner is punished once, but if it’s recorded on video and that’s
uploaded to YouTube, he is punished for life with those images,” he
added.
Aceh is the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia to practise
Shariah law. The practise was introduced in 2001 as a concession by the
central government to end a long-standing movement for independence.
Caning was implemented in 2005 and has become increasingly harsh since
then, covering offences such as gambling, drinking alcohol, homosexual
acts, relations outside of marriage, and showing affection in public.
Rights groups are not impressed, saying the amendment doesn’t go far enough.
“Torture is torture whether you do it in public, outside a mosque after
Friday prayers, or inside a room, banning anyone from taking a picture,”
said Human Rights Watch researcher, Andreas Harsono. “It’s still
torture, it’s still traumatising.”
