![\"gay](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.towleroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/aceh_caning.jpeg?resize=600%2C429\")
<\/p>\nCrowd Jeers as Two Men are Caned 83 Times for Gay Sex in Indonesia: VIDEO<\/b><\/p>\n
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Authorities in the Aceh province in Indonesia, the only to practice Sharia law, caned two gay<\/a> men<\/a> 83 times in a public square.\u00a0The two men<\/a>, both in their 20s, were caught last month by a group of vigilantes who entered the boarding house where they were staying.<\/p>\n It is the first time the province has carried out a punishment for homosexuality.<\/p>\n The AP reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n More than a thousand people packed the courtyard of a mosque to witness the caning, which was the first time that Aceh, the only province in Indonesia to practice Shariah law, has caned people for homosexuality.<\/p>\n The crowd shouted insults and cheered as the men<\/a>, aged 20 and 23, were whipped across the back and winced with pain. Many in the crush of spectators filmed the caning with cellphones as a team of five robed and hooded enforcers took turns to inflict the punishment, relieving one another after every 20 strokes for one of the men<\/a> and 40 for the other.<\/p>\n Sarojini Mutia Irfan, a female<\/a> university student who witnessed the caning, said it was a necessary deterrent.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat they have done is like a virus that can harm people\u2019s morale,\u201d she said. \u201cThis kind of public punishment is an attempt to stop the spread of the virus to other communities in Aceh.\u201d<\/p>\n Video of the caning (warning: disturbing):<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Human Rights Watch had called for the men to be released<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cThe arrest and detention of these two men<\/a> underscores the abuse imbedded in Aceh\u2019s discriminatory, anti-LGBT ordinances,\u201d said Phelim Kine, deputy Asia division director at Human Right Watch. \u201cThese men<\/a> had their privacy invaded in a frightening and humiliating manner and now face public torture for the \u2018crime\u2019 of their alleged sexual orientation.\u201d<\/p>\n Cell phone video footage<\/a> of the raid, apparently shot by one of the vigilantes and circulating on social media, shows one of the two men<\/a> visibly distressed as he calls<\/a> for help on his cellphone. \u201cPlease brother, please stop,\u201d one of the men<\/a> says in the video<\/a>. \u201cMy parents want to talk to you, they can pick me up.\u201d Aceh\u2019s Sharia ordinances empower members of the public as well as the special Sharia police to publicly identify and detain anyone suspected of violating its rules.<\/p>\n Aceh\u2019s codes have worsened over the past 10 years says HRW:<\/p>\n Over the past decade, Aceh\u2019s parliament has gradually adopted Sharia-inspired ordinances that criminalize non-hijab-wearing women<\/a>, drinking alcohol, gambling, and extramarital sexual relations, all of which can be enforced against non-Muslims. Aceh\u2019s LGBT population is also vulnerable to Aceh\u2019s 2014 Criminal Code that bars liwath<\/em> (sodomy) and musahabah<\/em> (lesbian<\/a> sexual action). Aceh province imposed the\u00a0Sharia punishment\u00a0<\/a>of multiple lashes of a cane against 339 people in 2016.<\/p>\n \u2026<\/p>\n Anti-LGBT incidents across Indonesia have significantly increased since January 2016<\/a> and included police raids on suspected gatherings of gay<\/a> men<\/a>, attacks on LGBT activists, and vitriolic anti-LGBT rhetoric from officials and politicians. In October, President Joko \u201cJokowi\u201d Widodo broke his long silence<\/a> on escalating anti-LGBT rhetoric by defending the rights of the country\u2019s LGBT community. He declared that \u201cthe police must act<\/a>\u201d against actions by bigoted groups or individuals to harm LGBT people or deny them their rights, and that \u201cthere should be no discrimination against anyone.\u201d<\/a> However, Jokowi has not backed up that statement with action.<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Jokowi should urgently intervene is this case to demonstrate his stated commitment to ending discrimination against LGBT people,\u201d Kine said. \u00a0\u201cJokowi then needs to act to eliminate Aceh\u2019s discriminatory ordinances so these outrageous arrests don\u2019t happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n The post Crowd Jeers as Two Men are Caned 83 Times for Gay Sex in Indonesia: VIDEO<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\nRELATED:\u00a0Two Gay Men Caught Having Sex Face 100 Lashes with a Cane in Indonesia: VIDEO<\/a><\/em><\/h2>\n