A woman in Indonesia's Aceh province fainted during a public caning, becoming the first individual to receive such punishment for allegedly committing obscenity live on social media with a man. The punishment, administered under the region's strict Sharia law, involved a masked officer repeatedly striking her back with a cane.
Images from the event show the woman, kneeling, screaming in pain as the caning progressed. It remains unclear how many of the 27 lashes she had received before losing consciousness. After she collapsed, a medic examined her to assess her condition. The sentence will be postponed until she is deemed fit to complete the remaining strikes.
Her partner also received caning for his alleged participation in the livestream, which reportedly showed the couple kissing. Four other individuals also received lashes for various offenses, including extramarital sex arranged through online applications.
Aceh is the sole province in Indonesia that enforces Sharia law, which criminalizes same-sex relationships and sex outside of marriage. Public caning is a penalty for a range of offenses under the province's Sharia code, such as gambling, alcohol consumption, same-sex relations, and extramarital relations.
This is not the first instance of someone collapsing during a public caning in Aceh. In June, a woman fainted after receiving 100 lashes for sex outside marriage. In January, another woman collapsed during a combined sentence of 140 lashes with her partner for alcohol consumption and sex outside marriage.
Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have repeatedly criticized the practice, asserting that it violates Indonesia's constitution and international human rights standards. They describe caning as a cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment that can amount to torture. Local officials, however, defend the practice as a deterrent and a part of the province's cultural identity.