Four people lashed 100 times for adultery as flogger takes pity on woman & whispers support during brutal punishment

FOUR people have been brutally punished for sex outside marriage by being lashed 100 times with a cane under strict Sharia law in Indonesia. The harsh public punishment was inflicted in Aceh province to two men and two women, who were punished alongside seven others for violations of Islamic law. One of the four people sentenced to 100 lashes for violations of Aceh’s strict Islamic code Credit: Shutterstock Editorial The official inflicting the punishment seemed to take pity on the woman Credit: Alamy The woman collapses after the ordeal Credit: Shutterstock Editorial The public events are always attended by a large crowd Credit: Alamy At one point, the masked official carrying out the beatings – known as the algojo – appeared to take pity on one woman and whisper words of support in her ear. The woman – whose face was partially covered by a white scarf – was photographed weeping as she fell to the ground in agony. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! The floggings took place in front of a crowd, including children, that gathered to watch. Some voices yelled out encouragement to hit them harder. One of four individuals who violated Sharia law by committing adultery Credit: Shutterstock Editorial The women found guilty of violating Sharia law were among 11 punished on the same day Credit: Alamy The practice has been criticised for being inhumane Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Canings are handed out to people for so-called offences ranging from gambling to drinking alcohol Credit: Alamy In the course of the brutal spectacle, four other people were lashed 22 times for the lesser crime of physical intimacy, which can mean hugging and kissing. Two others received seven lashes each for being too close to each other, which can include holding hands. Another man was flogged 20 times for consuming alcohol. Caning is not a legal form of punishment broadly in Indonesia, but it retains strong support in Aceh as a penalty for a range of so-called offences, from gambling to gay sex. Most read in The Sun Aceh was granted special autonomy to enforce a harsh form of Sharia law, under a 2005 peace deal to end a 30-year separatist insurgency in the province. In another image a man grimaces in pain as the blow lands on his back. In total, 11 people endured floggings during the display on Thursday in Banda Aceh. The public canings are intended to inflict humiliation and shame on the recipients as well as enforce a strict code of Islamic religious law. They are often staged outside mosques or in public squares before a crowd of spectators. Human rights groups have criticised the practice for being unnecessarily cruel. In July, a woman became the first person to be publicly caned in Aceh for committing an act of obscenity on social media. She and her partner were accused of kissing during a TikTok livestream. The couple were sentenced to 25 lashes, but this was reduced to 21 because they had already served time in prison. In another incident in May, a woman was pictured with tears streaming down her face after she was flogged for adultery, before she was carried away. A couple were flogged a horrendous 140 times in January for having sex outside marriage and drinking alcohol. The woman passed out from the agonising pain. In 2015, Aceh expanded the laws to also apply to non-Muslims in the province. 1 comment1