Indonesia's Aceh Province Continues Strict Sharia Law Enforcement with Public Canings
A decade after the first non-Muslim faced caning, the province maintains corporal punishments for offenses including alcohol sales and extramarital relations.
Aceh, the only Indonesian province to enforce Sharia law, continues to implement public canings as punishment for a range of offenses. These punishments, often carried out in front of crowds, are intended to shame and inflict pain on those who violate the province's strict Islamic legal code.
These laws, introduced in 2015, make gambling, adultery, premarital sex, homosexuality, public displays of affection, inappropriate mixing of sexes, and the consumption and sale of alcohol illegal. Punishments include caning, fines, and imprisonment.
In 2016, Remita Sinaga, a 60-year-old Christian woman, became the first non-Muslim to be publicly caned under Aceh's Sharia law. She received 28 lashes for selling alcohol. Sinaga reportedly agreed to the caning rather than face a custodial sentence in prisons with poor conditions.
While the Islamic criminal code is technically reserved for Muslims, non-Muslims can opt to be subject to it. The incident involving Sinaga drew international attention to the province's practices.
Recent incidents highlight the ongoing enforcement. In one case, a 21-year-old woman and her male partner were caned after being accused of kissing during a TikTok livestream, an act deemed obscene under the law. The woman received 100 lashes for extramarital relations and 40 for alcohol consumption. Her male partner received a similar sentence. The couple was reported to authorities after their live-streamed interaction.
Human rights groups have condemned the public canings as a form of corporal punishment. Amnesty International Indonesia has described such punishments as a "horrifying act of discrimination" and noted the expansion of the Islamic Criminal Code to target online expressions.
In another instance this year, three men were each caned up to 42 times for consuming alcohol. The punishments were carried out after medical checks deemed the men fit to receive their sentences.
The public canings are often staged in community squares or outside mosques, with officials documenting the proceedings. Prisoners frequently faint during the process, requiring medical attention. In one notable case in October 2026, a woman found guilty of sex outside marriage collapsed after receiving 140 lashes, compounded by a sentence for alcohol consumption. Her male partner also endured caning.
Despite criticism, supporters of the Islamic criminal law in Aceh argue that these punishments are legal under the province's special autonomy status granted by the Indonesian government.