An Indonesian Islamic court has sentenced two young men to 85 strokes of a cane each for having sexual relations, marking the first time the penalty for homosexuality has been used in the conservative Aceh province.
The couple, aged 20 and 23, will both face the strokes in a public caning after being found guilty of breaking strict Sharia regulations against homosexuality.
“The defendants are proven to have committed sodomy and are found guilty. The convicted men will be publicly caned in the province’s capital Banda Aceh on May 23 before the fasting month of Ramadan starts, according to the lead prosecutor, Gulmaini, who goes by single name.
Under Islamic criminal law anyone found guilty of being engaged in same-sex intercourse faces the maximum punishment of 100 strokes.
