A young, unmarried couple in Indonesia’s Aceh province has been publicly caned after being convicted by a Sharia court of violating Islamic law by kissing during a TikTok livestream.
The 22-year-old man and 25-year-old woman each received 21 lashes with a rattan cane in a public punishment. The sentence was reduced from 25 lashes to account for the time spent in detention following their arrest in April.
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According to the court, the couple kissed inside a car during a live TikTok broadcast in February. The video was reported to Sharia authorities, who arrested the pair and charged them with khalwat, an offence involving close physical proximity or intimate acts between unmarried individuals.
Public caning is a legal punishment in Aceh, the only province in Indonesia that enforces Sharia law.
The punishment has drawn criticism from human rights groups, which described it as cruel and disproportionate, while supporters of Sharia law in Aceh said it serves to uphold moral standards and deter conduct considered contrary to Islamic teachings
