A woman collapsed after being caned for having sex outside marriage, an offence under Sharia law in Indonesia’s Aceh province.
Images from Banda Aceh, the provincial capital and the only part of Indonesia where Islamic law is formally enforced, showed medical workers and Sharia officers surrounding the woman after the punishment.
She was publicly flogged for having sex outside marriage. Under Aceh’s Islamic regulations, those convicted of the offence can receive up to 100 strokes of a cane.
A man punished during the same session was also seen on his knees, apparently overcome by the pain of the beating.
He had been convicted of adultery, which is also treated as a criminal offence under Sharia law in Aceh.
The pair were among eight people sentenced by the Banda Aceh Syar’iyah Court. Each received as many as 100 strokes for breaching various Islamic regulations.
The punishments were carried out on a public stage in the city, where a small crowd gathered to watch.
Known as “algojos,” the officers used rattan canes to strike the defendants in front of Islamic court officials and onlookers. Human rights organisations have condemned the public floggings as cruel and degrading.
The algojos wear dark robes covering their bodies and cloaks over their faces to conceal their identities as they carry out the punishments.
A woman is caned after being convicted of violating Aceh’s Islamic law prohibiting sex outside marriage in Banda Aceh on October 15, 2026
Medical personnel and Sharia officers attend to a female convict who collapsed on the stage during a public caning session
Caning is imposed for a range of offences in Aceh, including gambling, drinking alcohol, homosexual acts and sexual relations outside marriage.
Holding the punishments in public is intended not only to cause physical pain but also to shame those found guilty of violating Sharia law.
Convicts frequently faint during the proceedings. Photographs and videos have often shown people being removed on stretchers after receiving the punishment.
The canings are commonly held outside mosques or in public squares, with spectators watching and recording the events on their mobile phones.
Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, but its constitution officially recognises six religions as well as indigenous belief systems.
Human rights advocates say the public humiliation compounds the physical cruelty and can leave victims with lasting psychological harm.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly criticised the practice, arguing that it conflicts with Indonesia’s constitution and the country’s obligations under international law.
Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia, previously said that while some behaviour might be considered inappropriate because social media is viewed by people of all ages, including children, that did not make it a criminal offence.
“But is it a crime that warrants imprisonment or even caning? That would be excessive.”
Amnesty previously said: ‘Caning contravenes Indonesia’s constitution and is in clear violation of international human rights law and standards.
‘It constitutes a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and can amount to torture in violation of the UN Convention against Torture and other international covenants, to which Indonesia is a State Party.’
A woman reacts as she is caned after being convicted of violating Aceh’s Islamic law prohibiting sex outside marriage
Officers and medical personnel assist a weakened convict after undergoing a public caning sentence
A convict grimacing in visible pain during a public caning session in Banda Aceh, Indonesia
Local officials have defended the practice as a deterrent and as part of the province’s identity, while critics warn it has negatively affected Indonesia’s human rights reputation and inflicted lasting trauma on those who endure it.
The practice also has wide support among Aceh’s mostly Muslim population.
More than 90 per cent of the 255 million people who live in Indonesia describe themselves as Muslim, but the vast majority practise a moderate form of the faith.
Sharia law in Aceh was introduced in 2002, with further provisions added the following year, after it was granted special autonomy in 2001, an attempt by the central government to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.
As part of that deal, Aceh won the right to be the only Indonesian province to use Islamic Sharia law as its legal code.
Among the measures introduced in 2003 was a ban on a person being alone with someone of the opposite sex who is neither a spouse nor a relative.
The law also set out punishment for sex crimes, unmarried people engaging in displays of affection, people 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.
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.
Over the past decade, the central government has devolved more power to regional authorities to increase autonomy and speed up development.
In 2018, the province began consulting the public on whether it should introduce beheading as a punishment, although Indonesia’s central government warned such plans would not be permitted under national law.