An Indonesian Christian was publicly flogged on Friday for selling alcohol which is deemed a violation of Islamic sharia law.
Jono Simbolon grimaced in pain when a masked religious officer lashed his back with a rattan stick on a makeshift stage outside a mosque in the provincial capital Banda Aceh.
He was said to have ‘bowed to’ the law known locally as Qanun and was sentenced to 36 lashings as a result, avoiding a potentially lengthy prison sentence.
Simbolon is only the third non-Muslim to suffer a public whipping since Aceh, on Sumatra island, began implementing Islamic law after it was granted special autonomy in 2001 – an attempt by the central government to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.
Jono Simbolon (front), an Indonesian Christian, grimaces in pain as he is flogged in front of a crowd outside a mosque in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, on January 19, 2018
A barefooted Jono Simbolon (centre in white) is led out before being publicly flogged. Locals smile, laugh and take pictures of the Christian
An Islamic enforcer holds the rattan stick against the back of Simbolon, who was whipped 36 times for selling alcohol in the province
About 98 percent of Aceh’s five million residents are Muslims subject to the Qanun religious law.
Non-Muslims who have committed an offence that violates both national and religious laws – such as selling bootleg liquor – can choose to be prosecuted under either system.
Chief prosecutor Erwin Desman said as a Christian, Simbolon decided to be prosecuted under the religious law adding that the man may have chosen a flogging to avoid a lengthy criminal prosecution.
Banda Aceh mayor Aminullah Usman spoke at the public lashing, during which children cheered, and said: ‘This is our government’s commitment to enforcing Islamic law.
‘If there is a violation of the law, immediately report it to the sharia police and we will carry out a punishment like today’s caning.’
After 10 canings, a doctor had to check on Simbolon’s condition before he was passed fit for the flogging to continue.
He was one of 10 people – eight men and two women – caned after Friday prayers for offences including pimping, prostitution and gambling.
One unmarried couple received 20 strokes each for being too physically close to each other – seen as a prelude to banned pre-marital sex.
Three police officers clad in sliver jewellery lead Simbolon out to be lashed. He is only the third non-Muslim to suffer a public whipping since Aceh, on Sumatra island, began implementing Islamic law after it was granted special autonomy in 2001 – an attempt by the central government to quell a long-running separatist insurgency
A sharia executor called an ‘algojo’ wearing white gloves, a lightly-coloured mask over his hood and sandals over his socks arrives to administer punishment for violating sharia law in Banda Aceh
Aceh is the only province in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, which implements Islamic law, or Sharia.
Last year, two gay men who admitted having sex were flogged in Aceh, with each receiving 100 strokes of the cane, drawing heavy criticism from rights groups.
Gay sex is not illegal in the rest of Indonesia, which mainly follows a criminal code inherited from former colonial ruler the Netherlands.
The province of Banda Aceh began implementing Sharia law after being granted autonomy in 2001 – an attempt by the government in Jakarta to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.
Islamic laws have been strengthened since Aceh struck a peace deal with Jakarta in 2005.
People are flogged for a range of offences including gambling, drinking alcohol, gay sex or any sexual relationship outside marriage.
More than 90 per cent of the 255million people who live in Indonesia describe themselves as Muslim, but the vast majority practice a moderate form of the faith.
The brutal and public beatings have become more prevalent this year with a number of reported incidents of those being punished collapsing in pain on stage.
Back in September 2014, Aceh approved an anti-homosexuality law that can punish anyone caught having gay sex with 100 lashes.
After a three-decade-old separatist movement, a peace agreement signed in 2005 granted special autonomy to Aceh, at the northern tip of Sumatra, on condition that it remained part of the sprawling archipelago.
As part of that deal, Aceh won the right to be the only Indonesian province to use Islamic sharia law as its legal code.
Anybody caught engaging in consensual gay sex is punished with 100 lashes, 100 months in jail or a fine of 1,000 grams of gold.
The law also set out punishment for sex crimes, unmarried people engaging in displays of affection, people caught found guilty of adultery and underage sex.
Religious police in Aceh have been known to target Muslim women without head scarves or those wearing tight clothes, and people drinking alcohol or gambling.
Over the past decade, the central government has devolved more power to regional authorities to increase autonomy and speed up development.
Engaging in homosexual acts is not a crime under Indonesia’s national criminal code but remains taboo in many conservative parts of the country with the world’s largest Muslim population.
The trend appeared to be slowing down after a string of worrying incidents at the turn of the new year, but the new pictures reveal the practice still looms large in Indonesia.
Men and women have collapsed in pain due to the severity of their injuries and people can be caned for something as innocent as standing too close to a partner in public or being seen alone with someone they are not married to.
An Acehnese woman was also lashed as part of the public caning on Friday outside a mosque after prayers had finished
An Acehnese man is escorted by the sharia police before being whipped in front of the public for violating sharia law in Banda Aceh
The man holds his hand over his mouth and nose as the enforcer brings down the rattan stick hard on his back in front of the gathered crowd
Pine trees outside a mosque in Sharia-law province of Aceh are cut down ‘because they resembled Christmas trees’
Officials at a mosque in the cut down 10 pine trees because they were said to resemble Christmas trees.
The religious temple was in the Indonesian province of Aceh where citizens are ruled by the ultra-strict Islamic Sharia law.
Chairman of the Baitul Makmur Meulaboh Mosque named only as Anwar said as well as looking like a Christmas tree, the trees had become unkempt and obscured the view of the building from the road.
The trees were felled by the chairman of the Baitul Makmur Meulaboh Mosque in Aceh, Indonesia
A spokesman for the West Aceh Regency Council slammed the decision, saying the reasons given made ‘no sense’.
He told Cakradunia: ‘In that case why don’t we hack down all the pine trees in West Aceh?
‘How much has been budgeted all this time to maintain those trees only for them to be thrown away just like that?’
With the trees now felled, there is no shade from the 30C sun for street vendors or parked cars.
As well as backlash from the local council, the mosque has been pilloried by the city’s Environment Agency, who dismissed claims the trees were not maintained.
Ten trees in total were chopped down because mosque officials decided they looked like a Christmas tree (pictured)
Head of the Meulaboh Environment Agency, Adi Yunanda, said: ‘All this time, the trees in Meulaboh have been maintained.
The agency budgeted nearly £400 a year to trim the ten trees and more than £800 in fertiliser.
Adi added that the mosque caretakers unilaterally came up with the decision to cut down the trees — which were public property — but did not mention any possible sanctions for them.
Aceh is the only province in Indonesia given regional autonomy to enforce Islamic sharia law.
The province has been criticized for systemic human rights abuses, including public floggings for alleged adulterers and those suspected of homosexuality.