Source: Amnesty International –
Responding to today’s caning of two men in the city of Banda Aceh for having consensual same-sex sexual relations, Amnesty International’s Regional Research Director Montse Ferrer said:
“This public flogging of two young men under Aceh’s Islamic Criminal Code for consensual sex is a disturbing act of state-sanctioned discrimination and cruelty. This punishment is a horrifying reminder of the institutionalized stigma and abuse faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in Aceh.
“Intimate relationships between consenting adults should never be criminalized. Punishments such as flogging are cruel, inhuman and degrading and may amount to torture under international law.
“We call on the Acehnese and Indonesian central government authorities to immediately halt these degrading practices and repeal all discriminatory bylaws that permit such violations. Aceh’s regional autonomy must not come at the expense of human rights.
“Indonesia, as a member of the UN Human Rights Council and a state party to the Convention Against Torture, must align its laws – including in Aceh – with its constitutional commitments to equality and non-discrimination. The criminalization of same-sex conduct and corporal punishment has no place in a just and humane society.”