Key facts
- An unmarried couple in Indonesia's Aceh province was publicly caned.
- Each individual received 21 lashes with a rattan cane.
- The punishment was for kissing during a TikTok livestream, violating Sharia law.
- The caning was witnessed by at least 100 people.
- Aceh is the only Indonesian province that enforces Sharia law.
A young couple in Indonesia's conservative Aceh province has been publicly caned after a Sharia court convicted them of violating Islamic law by kissing during a TikTok livestream. The court ordered the 22-year-old man and 25-year-old woman to receive 21 lashes each with a rattan cane. The public caning, witnessed by at least 100 people, was carried out on a stage in Banda Aceh. The couple was arrested in April after a February livestream of them kissing in a car went viral. Aceh is the only Indonesian province that enforces a version of Islamic law, which was expanded in 2015 to apply to non-Muslims. The law allows up to 100 lashes for morality offenses, and the couple's sentence was reduced from 25 lashes due to their four months already spent in prison. Four other individuals were also publicly caned for online gambling and adultery. Amnesty International Indonesia criticized the caning as a cruel, inhumane, and degrading human rights violation.