Two women had to be carried from the scene of a public flogging, after they were whipped for having ‘intimate relations’ with the opposite sex outside marriage in Indonesia.
The women were among six unmarried couples caught in a raid on a hotel in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province last year, and found guilty of breaking Sharia law.
After serving several months in prison, the six women and six men were subjected to a public whipping in the capital Banda Aceh on Monday.
Four of those arrested were each flogged seven times after being found with a member of the opposite sex who wasn’t a relation.
The others – who were caught in more compromising positions – received between 17-25 strokes for having intimate relations outside of marriage, an official said.
Some women cried out in pain as a masked sharia officer lashed them, and at least two had to be carried from the scene by sharia officers.
Dozens of spectators and journalists watched quietly. Some winced occasionally after the blows, while others used smartphones and tablets to film the spectacle.
Flogging is common for a range of offences in Aceh, a province located at the tip of Indonesia’s Sumatra island, including gambling, drinking alcohol, and having gay sex.