Two gay men begged for mercy as they were caned 77 times each in Indonesia today for breaking Islamic law.
Two Indonesia men has been canned 77 times after being caught in their room having Sex.
The men were arrested in November after residents became suspicious and police broke into their rented room where they were caught having sex, said Heru Triwijanarko, Aceh’s acting Sharia police chief.
Hundreds of people witnessed the men, aged 27 and 29, wince in pain and plead for mercy as a team of five enforcers wearing robes and hoods took turns, relieving one another after 40 strokes.
Each man was flogged 77 times, three lashes less than their original sentence, because they had already served three months in prison.
Four others were lashed between 17 and 40 times on the same day, for either drinking alcohol or meeting members of the opposite sex.
Gay sex is not illegal elsewhere in Indonesia and Aceh is the only region in the world’s biggest Muslim nation that imposes the Sharia law.
In Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, public flogging is a common punishment for a range of offences that include gambling, drinking alcohol and adultery.
Human rights groups slam public caning as cruel, and Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo has called for it to end.
But it has strong support among Aceh’s population.
