A 22-year-old woman cried as she pleaded with a masked sharia officer as he was using a whip in a public ceremony in Indonesia’s very conservative province called Aceh.
The woman was being “disciplined” for having a pre-marital relationship and was among three people that got 100 whips.
The two men and one woman were caned in a stadium in Lhokseumawe as dozens of people in the crowd watched and cheered.
The practice is used for a range of offenses in the region, including drinking, gambling, or any “contact” outside of marriage.
The woman and her 22-year-old boyfriend received 100 hits each after they were caught.
The woman broke down a few times because of the pain so the sharia officer had to stop and a doctor had to clear out if she was able to continue.
A 19-year-old man was also “disciplined” with a rattan cane for having an relationship with a minor. He will now also serve 5 years in prison.
The couple will walk free.
An official from the local prosecutor’s office said that the flogging was held inside a stadium in order to prevent children from watching.
Aceh is the only province in Indonesia, the biggest Muslim-majority country in the world that imposes the Islamic law.
Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo has called for this kind of “discipline”to end, but the practice enjoys wide support among the population.
