Indonesian Couple Publicly Caned for Kissing on TikTok Live in Aceh Province
A young couple in Aceh, Indonesia's conservative province, was publicly caned on Thursday after being convicted by a Sharia court for violating Islamic law by kissing during a TikTok live stream. The court sentenced each of them to 21 lashes with a rattan cane for kissing despite not being married. The punishment was carried out on a stage in Bustanussalatin Park in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, in front of at least 100 spectators. The caning was administered by a group dressed in robes and head coverings.
The couple, a 22-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman, were arrested in April after a TikTok live video from February 27 showing them kissing in a car went viral. Complaints to local Sharia authorities led to their arrest and trial. Initially sentenced to 25 lashes each, their punishment was reduced to 21 due to their four months already spent in jail. The court also ordered the confiscation of a mobile phone and USB drive containing the TikTok video, which are to be destroyed.
Aceh is the only Indonesian province enforcing a version of Islamic law, granted the right to do so by the secular central government in 2006 as part of a peace agreement ending a separatist conflict. The law was expanded in 2015 to apply to non-Muslims, who make up about 1% of the population. The law allows up to 100 lashes for moral offenses such as adultery and homosexual acts, and also punishes gambling, alcohol consumption, women wearing tight clothing, and men skipping Friday prayers.
On the same day, four others were publicly caned for online gambling and adultery. Amnesty International Indonesia condemned the public caning as a human rights violation and a "cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment." The organization noted Indonesia has ratified a treaty requiring the abolition of such punishments. Osman Hamid, Amnesty Indonesia's director, said the behavior might be inappropriate but does not justify imprisonment or caning.
However, some locals, like 22-year-old Ainie Nadira who witnessed the caning, supported the punishment, viewing it as a justified warning to others about social media conduct and a means to educate the public about unacceptable behavior.
