Indonesia: 100 lashes for women for sex outside marriage, crowd filmed and shouted "Harder!"

In Aceh province, Indonesia, which operates under Sharia law, two women and two men were each given 100 lashes for having sex outside of marriage. The crowd, including children, encouraged the lashings by shouting "Harder!" Four others received 22 lashes for "physical intimacy," and two received seven lashes for being too close.

Authorities in Aceh province, Indonesia, a devout Islamic region governed by Sharia law, held a horrifying event today where two women and two men each received 100 lashes for engaging in sex outside of marriage. Some in the crowd, which included children, shouted "Harder!" as the cane was repeatedly brought down on their backs. At the same event, four other people received 22 lashes each for the lesser offense of "physical intimacy," which can include hugging and kissing, and two more received seven lashes each for being too close to each other—an offense that might include holding hands. One man received 20 lashes for consuming alcohol. Aceh is the only province in Indonesia governed by Sharia law, which has been enforced there since 2002, with enforcement tightened in 2015 to also apply to non-Muslims. In Indonesia as a whole, lashing is illegal, but in the autonomous province it enjoys broad support. The article quotes a local resident who supports the punishment, arguing it "educates the public."