BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — An Indonesian couple was publicly flogged 100 times on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, after being found guilty of engaging in premarital sex, in one of the latest punishments carried out under Islamic law in the conservative province of Aceh.
The punishment was administered by officials using a rattan cane before dozens of spectators in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, where Sharia law is formally enforced.
The couple received the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence under local regulations.
Public Punishment Under Sharia Law
Aceh is the only region in Indonesia permitted to implement Sharia law, which criminalises a range of behaviours, including gambling, alcohol consumption and same-sex relations.
Local authorities said the punishment was carried out in accordance with established legal provisions.
“We implement Islamic law in Aceh, so whenever someone violates it, we have to carry out punishments like the caning we just conducted,” said Rajesh Kana, an official from the local prosecutors’ office.
Multiple Sentences Carried Out
In addition to the couple, four other individuals were punished during the same public event.
They received between eight and 29 lashes for offences including alcohol consumption and unlawful sexual activity.
A woman who was sentenced to 27 lashes fainted during the punishment and required medical attention from paramedics on site.
Strict Enforcement and Local Support
Officials in Aceh maintain that enforcing Sharia law reflects the will of the local population, which widely supports such punishments as a means of maintaining moral and social order.
Mr Kana said that sexual relations between unmarried individuals are strictly prohibited and that caning remains a central element of the province’s legal framework.
Ongoing Debate Over Punishments
Public floggings in Aceh have drawn criticism from international human rights organisations, which argue that such punishments are degrading and violate fundamental rights.
Indonesian authorities, however, have consistently defended the practice as a matter of regional autonomy.
In January, authorities in Aceh carried out one of the harshest sentences recorded in recent years, flogging an unmarried couple 140 times each, underscoring the continued strict enforcement of Sharia law since its formal adoption in the province in 2015.
The latest case highlights the enduring tensions between local legal traditions and global human rights standards, as Aceh continues to apply Islamic law within Indonesia’s broader secular legal system.
