Eleven men and women have been whipped for crimes ranging from gambling to adultery in Indonesia under brutal sharia law.
The barbaric public lashings, which occurred today in Banda Aceh, are the latest to emerge from the only province in the country to implement the Islamic punishment.
Those forced to take a cane across the back were hit more between 10 and 29 times by a masked enforcer for their respective so-called crimes.
An Acehnese woman is whipped as punishment in front of the public in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, September 11, 2017. The barbaric public lashings, which occurred today in Banda Aceh, are the latest to emerge from the only province in the country to implement the Islamic punishment
A woman is prepared for a whipping punishment in front of the public in Banda Aceh. Two police officers dressed in green can be seen removing her shoes before she is lashed
An Acehnese man grimaces in pain after being whipped by a masked enforcer as punishment in front of his peers in Banda Aceh, Indonesia
A man braces himself just moments before the cane comes crashing into his back. The Acehnese men and women were whipped between 10 and 29 times for their so-called crimes ranging from adultery to gambling
The province 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 elderly man wearing sandals stands on the public stage in Banda Aceh as he prepares to be lashed by a masked enforcer. A crowd can be seen gathered to see him take his punishment and some security officials on stage appear to be smiling
A man bows his head on stage as the enforcer whips him across the back in a public punishment endorsed by the province of Banda Aceh