Woman, partner caned over extramarital affair in Indonesia

A woman in the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh has been given 17 lashings in public, for having an extramarital affair, along with her partner. She was pictured falling to the floor in agony while being flogged.

The woman and her partner were sentenced to 17 lashes on Wednesday for breaking Sharia law, which prohibits men and women from being close to one another unless they are married or family, reports Reuters citing a Daily Mail report.

The pair were both caned by the 'executor' of the Sharia Police, known as the Algojo, in front of an audience in the city of Banda Aceh, on the island of Sumatra.

Photos showed a police officer speaking to the crowds on a microphone while men were seen recording the punishment on their phones.

Aceh is the only province in the country which has implemented Sharia law - which sees rules governed by a strict interpretation of Islam's holy book the Quran.

Pictures showed how the woman and man were individually led to an open-aired building before being made to kneel and stand on a red carpet respectively.

An audience was seen watching the floggings from rows of seats which appeared to have been laid out especially.

The executor, or Algojo, was seen covered from head to toe in a brown cloak-like costume with two eye holes covered by a white Zorro-like mask.

He was pictured perusing over a selection of three wooden sticks before beginning the corporal punishment.

While being caned, the woman, who was wearing a white burka and face mask, appeared to slump forward towards the floor in agony.

Police in official uniforms were also seen attending to her, along with other women in red headdresses.

The man, also donning a face mask, was seen standing up tall and looking directly at the 'audience' as he was flogged on his back.

Aceh is the only province in Indonesia with the autonomy to be able to enforce Sharia law and lashings, the Daily Mail said.

The deeply conservative province carries out floggings for a range of offences, including drinking alcohol, adultery, and engaging in premarital or homosexual sex.

In 2018, Aceh officials vowed to end public floggings and carry them out behind prison walls instead, however, despite the promises the number of public floggings and canings has reportedly risen instead.