Gay men flogged in Aceh after vigilantes find them having sex

In what human rights groups describe as a new low, two gay men have been lashed 83 times each with the cane in the Indonesian province of Aceh.

Key points:

• Vigilantes found the men having sex in an apartment
• Homosexuality is illegal under Sharia law, which is in force in Aceh
• Indonesia appears to be sliding away from its reputed tolerance and pluralism

Hundreds gathered outside a mosque in Banda Aceh to watch the flogging of the two men who are both in their early 20s.

Vigilantes found the men having sex after entering a private apartment room in March and reported them to authorities.

Aceh is the only part of Indonesia where homosexuality is illegal because Sharia law is in force there.

The strict Islamic law has been in place since 2004 with the punishment for morale misdeeds flogging by cane.

Drinking alcohol, adultery, and public displays of affection outside of a relationship are also criminal acts.

Another four heterosexual couples were also caned this morning for displaying affection while being unmarried.

‘New low’ as Indonesia shifts toward intolerance

“It’s really a new low for Indonesia and Aceh,” Andreas Harsono from Human Rights Watch said.

“The problem is that Aceh is seen as a role model for conservative areas across the country.”

Mr Harsono had called on the Indonesian President to immediately intervene to prevent the public flogging.

He said there has been growing anti-LGBT sentiment across Indonesia, particularly over the past two years.

On the weekend more than 140 men were arrested at a gay club in Jakarta for pornography with police widely distributing photos of the accused with their faces clearly visible.

Tim Lindsey, the director of the Centre for Indonesian law, Islam and Society at Melbourne University, said coupled with the jailing of Jakarta’s Christian Governor known as Ahok, it suggested a societal shift toward intolerance.

“In the last five years in particular the rise of conservative hardliner groups such as those who led the attack on Ahok in Jakarta has also led to the targeting of gay men and other LGBTI groups,” Professor Lindsey said.

“There is a real question as to whether Indonesia’s reputation for pluralism and tolerance can survive or whether society in Indonesia has significantly shifted as recent events suggest may be the case.”

Iffah Rochmah, from the hardline group Hizbhut Tahrir, told the ABC homosexuality is now “rampant” and “endemic” across the country.

“Some people are saying it’s inhumane,” she said of the caning of the gay men in Aceh.

“Inhumane according to whom? The perpetrators may think it’s a hefty punishment but what about the next possible victims?”

The Indonesian Government is trying to have Hizbhut Tahrir disallowed, in the first solid step against the rising conservatism.

Source: Gay men flogged in Aceh after vigilantes find them having sex – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)